Utilization of nerve conduction studies for the diagnosis of polyneuropathy in patients with diabetes: a retrospective analysis of a large patient series.

Background: Diabetic polyneuropathy (DPN) is a disabling complication of diabetes mellitus. A population-based analysis of physician utilization of nerve conduction studies (NCS) for the assessment of DPN was conducted.

Methods: All electrodiagnostic encounters over a 30-month period using a computer-based neurodiagnostic instrument linked to a data registry were analyzed retrospectively.