A comparison between two methods of aesthesiometric assessment in patients with hand-arm vibration syndrome.

Hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS) is caused by prolonged exposure to vibration. The diagnosis and assessment of disease severity are subjective at present. The aim of this study was to determine sensorineural dysfunction in patients with HAVS using two methods of aesthesiometric assessment. We recruited three groups of age-matched subjects: 20 subjects diagnosed as having HAVS, 15 manual workers and 15 sedentary workers. We measured both two-point discrimination and depth sense perception using an aesthesiometer. We found that the two-point discrimination wheel was more accurate than the depth sense perception wheel at detecting levels of sensorineural dysfunction in subjects with HAVS. The increased sensitivity of the two-point disc would suggest that it should be used in preference to the depth sense disc for the assessment of sensorineural dysfunction in patients with HAVS.