Sciatic nerve function following hindlimb thermal injury.

Peripheral neuropathy occurs in approximately 20% of patients with major burns and seriously impairs rehabilitation. We describe an experimental model which permits elevation of the tissue temperature in the region of the distal sciatic nerve trunk of rats at a reproducible rate to a predetermined level without inflicting concomitant major cutaneous injury. Radiofrequency current is delivered through parallel copper electrodes mounted in a chamber into which the limb has been inserted. In the present experiments, tissue temperature was arbitrarily elevated to 47 degrees C for 30 sec in 62 rats. There were 43 normal controls. The posterior tibial branch was the most intensively studied, as some of its conduction characteristics can be serially assessed percutaneously. Conduction block, which was apparently irreversible, was present in 67% of posterior tibials by 24 hr postinjury. In branches which were still excitable, prolongation of the absolute refractory period was the most consistent abnormality noted. Slowing of conduction, as evidenced by prolongation of inflection velocity or peak velocity, was never observed. However, this injury resulted in selective conduction failure of sural--but not of peroneal--fibers which conducted at 40 m/sec or greater. Fiber modality is an important determinant of the vulnerability to direct thermal injury of peripheral nerve in vivo.