Disability and health status in patients with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy

Purpose:Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) is a disorder affecting the peripheral nerves. The purpose of this study was to describe disability and health status in patients with CIDP in Sweden.

Methods:All 22 adult patients with CIDP at the Karolinska University Hospital, Huddinge were invited to participate. Twenty-one patients performed all measures. Their mean age was 54 years. The following measures were used: vibration perception threshold (VPT); the Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS); the Berg Balance Scale; finger dexterity using the Nine-Hole Peg Test (NHPT); functional mobility using the Timed 'Up and Go' Test; health status with the SF-36 questionnaire.

Results:Fifty-seven per cent of the patients had a higher thumb and ankle VPT than published normative data. The FSS showed that 38% scored over 5, indicating severe fatigue. The majority of the patients had reduced functional balance. Sixty-two per cent had a subnormal result on the NHPT. Results of the SF-36 showed lower scores than the Swedish norm on the sub-scales describing physical health.

Conclusions:The majority of the patients with CIDP had disabilities and decreased physical health status. The presence of fatigue may be taken into consideration in immunomodulatory treatments and during physical rehabilitation.