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Previous Volume 349:306-307 July 17, 2003 Number 3 Next

	Since this article has no abstract, we have provided an extract of the first 100 words of the full text and any section headings.

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To the Editor: Virtually all clinicians I know routinely order tests for vitamin B₁₂ deficiency, folate deficiency, and hypothyroidism as part of the initial workup for peripheral neuropathy. However, none of these disorders are mentioned by Mendell and Sahenk in their Clinical Practice article on painful sensory neuropathy (March 27 issue).¹ Are they in fact not truly underlying causes, or is the diagnostic yield so low that testing is not warranted?

Steven Leiner, N.P.
Mission Neighborhood Health Center
San Francisco, CA 94110
sleiner@itsa.ucsf.edu

1. Mendell JR, Sahenk Z. Painful sensory neuropathy. N Engl J Med 2003;348:1243-1255. [Free Full Text]

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