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Perspectives
How does this study impact clinical practice?
- Although the changes in nerve size were not pronounced, the CSA of individual nerves might provide informative data on possible different pathophysiological aspects of nerve disease in SLE.
- This study shows that CSA could be a complementary tool to NCS for studying peripheral neuropathy in SLE.
- Ultrasound measurement of the CSA of the peripheral nerves in SLE has high specificity and is repeatable, low cost, risk-free, and more patient-friendly than NCS.
- Future studies using more than one sonographic parameter in combination with NCS and nerve histopathology are recommended to further investigate SLE-related neuropathy.
