Electrodiagnostic Pitfalls

J Korean Assoc EMG Electrodiagn Med 2000;2(1):1-9.
Published online May 9, 2000.

Abstract

Nerve conduction studies and needle electromyography are the two basic component of the electrodiagnostic assessment. The clinical evaluation of electrophysiologic signals that forms the basis of electrodiagnostic medicine is subject to a number of potential errors. These are errors related to the electrodiagnostic examination and interpretative and judgement errors. Errors related to the electrodiagnostic examination include technical and basic documentation errors. Interpretative and judgement errors are composed of anatomic, physiologic, and diagnostic judgement errors. The pitfalls of the needle examination is also included in this category. Some errors are important because of the frequency with which they occur, whereas others are important because of the resultant consequences. In this review, potential error thought to be most important are discussed either because of their frequency of occurrence or because of the consequences of their appearance.

Key Words: Technical error, Documentation error, Interpretative error, Judgement error