Analysis Of Vitamin B12 Levels Of 289 Patients At A Neurosurgery Outpatient Clinic

Vitamin B12 deficiency may cause peripheral neuropathy and peripheral neuropathy is the most common cause of distal extremity paresthesias. The aim of this study was to determine the serum B12 level of the patients with complaints of pain and/or numbness/ tingling and try to demonstrate the relation between them. Patients’ files admitted to neurosurgery outpatient clinic were retrospectively analyzed. Serum vitamin B12 levels and the admission complaints of the patients were studied. A total of 289 patients with complaints of pain and/or numbness/tingling that serum vitamin B12 levels measured were included. All of the patients were evaluated by the same clinician. The serum vitamin B12 concentrations of 77 patients out of 289 were found to be below 193 pg/ml (mean 157.82±27.45). The total number of the patients with the complaint of numbness/tingling was 75 and the mean serum vitamin B12 level was 235.69±96.19 pg/ml, the mean serum vitamin B12 level of the remaining 214 patients was 285.29±124.50 pg/ml. Although these results were within the normal limits, the difference of the mean values of the two groups was found to be significant (t=3.136, p= 0.002). The low serum vitamin B12 level does not always correlate with the tissue insufficiency and also it’s serum level being normal does not indicate it’s being sufficient at the tissues. Vitamin B12 deficiency should also be thought at the etiology of sensory disorder, especially if the radiological findings are normal, even though in the absence of anemia and serum level being at borderline.