Medical history (history of illness) represents an important component in the diagnosis of diabetic polyneuropathy.
Family history
- Are there any diseases (diabetes mellitus, neurologic diseases) in your family that are common?
Social history
Current medical history/systemic history (somatic and psychological complaints).
- Have you noticed symptoms such as burning, tingling, or loss of sensation in arms and/or legs?
- Has your sensation of heat/cold changed?
- Do you suffer from muscle weakness, muscle tremors or pain?
- Have you noticed any unsteadiness in your gait?
- Do you have skin lesions/ulcers that heal poorly?
- Have you noticed water retention in the tissues?
- Do you have any unexplained dizziness?
- Have you experienced states of sudden-onset, short-lasting unconsciousness?*
- Do you suffer from discomfort of the gastrointestinal tract?
- Difficulty swallowing?
- Painful swallowing?
- Abdominal pain?
- Nausea/vomiting?
- Feeling of fullness
- Flatulence?
- Diarrhea?
- Constipation?
- Fecal incontinence (inability to retain the intestinal contents as well as intestinal gases arbitrarily in the rectum).
- Do you suffer from discomfort of the urinary and genital apparatus?
- Do you have bladder emptying disorders?
- Do you suffer from erectile dysfunction?
- How long have the above symptoms been present? In what chronological order did they occur?
Vegetative anamnesis incl. nutritional anamnesis.
- Are you overweight? Please tell us your body weight (in kg) and height (in cm).
- Do you smoke? If so, how many cigarettes, cigars or pipes per day?
- Do you drink alcohol? If yes, what drink(s) and how many glasses per day?
- Have you noticed any changes in bowel movements or urination?
Self history including medication history.
- Pre-existing conditions (diabetes mellitus, neurological diseases).
- Operations
- Allergies
Medication history
- Anti-infectives (medications used to treat infectious diseases) – quinolones/fluoroquinolones/gyrase inhibitors (ciprofloxacin, moxifloxacin, nalidixic acid, norfloxacin, lomefloxacin, levofloxacin, ofloxacin), chloroquine, dapsone, dideoxycytidine, isoniazid, nitrofurantoin, metronidazole, thalidomide.
- Antirheumatic drugs and immunosuppressants – chloroquine, colchicine, gold, tacrolimus.
- Psychiatric medication and sedatives – disulfiram, lithium.
- Phenytoin
- Reverse transcriptase inhibitors – drugs used in HIV therapy.
- Cytostatic drugs – drugs such as vincristine, cisplatin, vinca alkaloids, taxanes, or proteasome inhibitors used in the therapy of cancers
Environmental history
- Acrylamide – formed during frying, grilling and baking; used in the manufacture of polymers and dyes.
- Alcohol (= alcohol-associated polyneuropathy) → sensitive symptoms, such as numbness, stinging, or unsteadiness of gait.
- Arsenic
- Hydrocarbons
- Heavy metals such as lead, thallium, mercury
- Carbon disulfide
- Trichloroethylene
- Triorthocresyl phosphate (TKP)
- Bismuth (due tobismuth-containing dental material or in the case of long-term treatment with bismuth preparations).
* If this question has been answered with “Yes”, an immediate visit to the doctor is required! (Data without guarantee)
