Subclinical peripheral neuropathy in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease without hypoxemia

AIM: The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of subclinical peripheral neuropathy (PNP) in stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients without severe hypoxemia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifty-six (52 men and 4 women) patients with COPD without severe hypoxemia, 25 healthy smokers, and 24 healthy nonsmokers were included in the study. The latency, amplitude, and velocity measurements of right and left median motor nerve, tibial motor nerve, peroneal motor nerve, median sensory nerve, sural sensory nerve, right ulnar motor nerve, and right ulnar sensory nerve were performed. RESULTS: A high proportion of PNP was detected in the COPD group compared to the smoker and nonsmoker control groups (41.1%, 36.0%, and 33.3%, respectively). However, the difference between the groups was not statistically significant (P = 0.784). However, some of the electrophysiological measurements were statistically significantly worse in the COPD group (P 0.05). CONCLUSION: The present study demonstrates that the PNP may be an extrapulmonary manifestation of COPD. The physician should be aware of the possibility of PNP in COPD patients without severe hypoxemia.