Evaluating the Diagnostic Value of Somatosensory Evoked Potentials in the Diagnosis of Meralgia Paraesthetica

Although the diagnosis of Meralgia paraesthetica (MP) is always made based on clinical background, but electrophysiological evaluation is helpful in confirming the diagnosis. We investigated the Somatosensory Evoked Potentials (SEPs) of the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve (LFCN) of the thigh. Because of lack of knowledge in case of its diagnostic utility in our country, this study is performed.

In this cross sectional study, we entered sixty consecutive patients referred to the Loqman Hospital in Tehran (2009 – 2010), who have clinical symptoms and signs consistent with a diagnosis of MP underwent bilateral studies of SEPs elicited by stimulation of the LFCN of the thigh.

SEPs was abnormal in 32 (53.3%) patients, all of whom were clinically diagnosed with MP. The specificity of the SEPs test was 98.3% (95% CI, 91.0%– 99.9%) for the diagnosis of MP.

Our findings suggest that SEPs is an extremely useful test for “ruling out” the diagnosis of MP.