Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 May-Jun;35(3):1791-1797.
doi: 10.21873/invivo.12439.

Association of Psychometric Indices and Normal Electrodiagnostic Studies in Referral for Suspected Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Marianna Papadopoulou  1   2 , Georgios Tsivgoulis  3 , Ioanna Chatzi  4 , Lina Palaiodimou  3 , Marianna Bregianni  3 , Konstantinos Voumvourakis  3 , Ioannis Michopoulos  5
Affiliations

Association of Psychometric Indices and Normal Electrodiagnostic Studies in Referral for Suspected Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Marianna Papadopoulou et al. In Vivo. 2021 May-Jun.

Abstract

Background/aim: The aim of this study was to investigate psychometric indices and their association with electrodiagnostic studies (EDX).

Patients and methods: A total of 100 patients referred for EDX testing of the upper limbs were prospectively enrolled. Demographic data, laboratory test results, referral physician specialty, main symptom, WHODAS 2.0-12 item version, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire (BCTQ) and a Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) indicating the extent of their discomfort were collected.

Results: Normal EDX results were elicited from 56% of patients. Only the presence of numbness in the right hand, pain in the left hand and older age were significantly associated with an abnormal EDX result. The more depressed and anxious the patients were, the more they scored on psychometric scales.

Conclusion: The large prevalence of normal EDX studies raises the issue of unnecessary referrals. A proportion of patients are referred only according to their reported symptoms. Psychological factors affect the way a person expresses physical discomfort, leading to unnecessary EDX referrals and inevitably with normal results.

Keywords: Electrodiagnostic studies; neuromuscular disease; psychometric indices.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The Authors declare no conflicts of interest in regard to this study.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. American Association of Electrodiagnostic Medicine Referral guidelines for electrodiagnostic medicine consultations. Muscle Nerve Suppl. 1999;8:S107–S108. - PubMed
    1. Cocito D, Tavella A, Ciaramitaro P, Costa P, Poglio F, Paolasso I, Duranda E, Cossa FM, Bergamasco B. A further critical evaluation of requests for electrodiagnostic examinations. Neurol Sci. 2006;26(6):419–422. doi: 10.1007/s10072-006-0525-y. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Lo JK, Finestone HM, Gilbert K, Woodbury MG. Community-based referrals for electrodiagnostic studies in patients with possible carpal tunnel syndrome: What is the diagnosis. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2002;83(5):598–603. doi: 10.1053/apmr.2002.32476. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Podnar S. Critical reappraisal of referrals to electromyography and nerve conduction studies. Eur J Neurol. 2005;12(2):150–155. doi: 10.1111/j.1468-1331.2004.00979.x. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Johnsen B, Fuglsang-Frederiksen A, Vingtoft S, Fawcett P, Liguori R, Nix W, Otte G, Proença J, Schofield I, Sieben G. Differences in the handling of the EMG examination at seven European laboratories. Electroencephalogr Clin Neurophysiol. 1994;93(2):155–158. doi: 10.1016/0168-5597(94)90079-5. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources