Electrodiagnostic studies: Are they useful in clinical practice?

Objective: Electrodiagnostic testing (electromyography [EMG] and nerve cond uction studies [NCS]) may result in some patient discomfort. The justificat ion for such testing should be based on the expectation that the results wi ll affect patient management. This study was conducted to determine how fre quently the results of EMG/NCS change the clinical management of the patien t, Methods: One investigator (MB) spoke to each referring physician after EMG/ NCS to determine if any management decisions were altered by the test. Results: One hundred forty consecutive EMG/NCS records were obtained. Follo w-up was available on 100 patients. Of 78 patients with abnormal findings o n EMC/NCS, 29 (37%) had a diagnosis different from the referring diagnosis. For 43 of the 78 (55%), the physician reported that additional diagnostic testing was undertaken or treatment plans were altered. Conclusion: EMC/NCS are useful, informative, and diagnostic in the manageme nt of various neurologic disorders. (C) 1998 by the American Congress of Re habilitation Medicine and the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Reh abilitation.