Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2019 Feb;29(1):31-39.
doi: 10.1007/s10286-018-0540-0. Epub 2018 Jun 28.

Sudomotor function testing by electrochemical skin conductance: does it really measure sudomotor function?

Sharika Rajan  1 , Marta Campagnolo  1 , Brian Callaghan  1 , Christopher H Gibbons  2
Affiliations

Sudomotor function testing by electrochemical skin conductance: does it really measure sudomotor function?

Sharika Rajan et al. Clin Auton Res. 2019 Feb.

Abstract

Objective: Electrochemical skin conductance (ESC) is a non-invasive test of sweat function developed as a potential marker of small fiber neuropathy. Here we systematically review the evolution of this device and the data obtained from studies of ESC across different diseases.

Methods: Electronic databases, including MEDLINE, and Google Scholar were searched through to February 2018. The search strategy included the following terms: "electrochemical skin conductance," "EZSCAN," and "Sudoscan." The data values provided by each paper were extracted, where available, and input into tabular and figure data for direct comparison.

Results: Thirty-seven studies were included this systematic review. ESC did not change by age or gender, and there was significant variability in ESC values between diseases, some of which exceeded control values. Longitudinal studies of disease demonstrated changes in ESC that were not biologically plausible. Of the 37 studies assessed, 25 received support from the device manufacturer. The extracted data did not agree with other published normative values. Prior studies do not support claims that ESC is a measure of small fiber sensory function or autonomic function.

Conclusions: Although many papers report significant differences in ESC values between disease and control subjects, the compiled data assessed in this review raises questions about the technique. Many of the published results violate biologic plausibility. A single funding source with a vested interest in the study outcomes has supported most of the studies. Normative values are inconsistent across publications, and large combined data sets do not support a high sensitivity and specificity. Finally, there is insufficient evidence supporting the claim that Sudoscan tests sudomotor or sensory nerve fiber function.

Keywords: Electrochemical skin conductance; Peripheral autonomic function; Small fiber neuropathy; Sudoscan.

PubMed Disclaimer

Comment in

References

    1. Scarr D Lovblom LE, Lovshin JA et al (2017) Lower corneal nerve fibre length identifies diabetic neuropathy in older adults with diabetes: results from the Canadian Study of Longevity in Type 1 Diabetes. Diabetologia 60(12):2529–2531 - PubMed - DOI
    1. Kass-Iliyya L, Javed S, Gosal D et al (2015) Small fiber neuropathy in Parkinson’s disease: a clinical, pathological and corneal confocal microscopy study. Parkinsonism Relat Disord 21(12):1454–1460 - PubMed - PMC - DOI
    1. Scarr D, Lovblom LE, Ostrovski I et al (2017) Agreement between automated and manual quantification of corneal nerve fiber length: implications for diabetic neuropathy research. J Diabetes Complications 31(6):1066–1073 - PubMed - DOI
    1. Selvarajah D, Cash T, Davies J et al (2015) SUDOSCAN: a simple, rapid, and objective method with potential for screening for diabetic peripheral neuropathy. PLoS One 10(10):e0138224 - PubMed - PMC - DOI
    1. Luk AO, Fu WC, Li X et al (2015) The clinical utility of SUDOSCAN in chronic kidney disease in Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes. PLoS One 10(8):e0134981 - PubMed - PMC - DOI

Publication types

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources