WorksheetsIndication of electrodiagnosis
Total questions: 15
Worksheet time: 8mins
A 45-year-old woman has numbness and tingling in her right thumb, index, and middle finger for 3 months, worse at night. Tinel’s sign positive at wrist.
Should she be sent for EDX?
YES
NO
A 45-year-old woman has numbness in her thumb and index finger.
You suspect carpal tunnel syndrome.
What is the most useful role of EDX?
Replace physical examination
Assess muscle strength
Confirm diagnosis and grade severity
Identify wrist bone pathology
Which clinical situation should not be referred for EDX?
Ulnar neuropathy
Rotator cuff tear
Radiculopathy
Carpal tunnel syndrome
Which of these is not an indication for EDX?
Numbness
/weakness
Muscle atrophy
Joint swelling without weakness
Foot drop
A 60-year-old diabetic patient with burning feet, worse at night.
Can EDX detect abnormalities in this patient?
YES
NO
Which one is an indication for electrodiagnostic study?
Arm & leg weak from cervical myelopathy
Rt arm weakness after trauma
Rt hemiparesis from stroke
Quadriplegia from
spinal cord injury
A 60-year-old man with neck pain radiating to right arm
and numbness in C6-7 dermatome.
Can EDX detect abnormalities in this patient?
YES
NO
Which of the following is not a benefit of EDX ?
Localizing lesion site
Determining severity
Differentiating
root vs
peripheral lesion
Identifying pure tendon injury
What is the main benefit of EDX in radiculopathy?
Confirm root-level physiologic damage
Replace MRI
Identify bone changes
Measure disc size
Which of the following is an absolute contraindication to needle EMG?
Pregnancy
Pacemaker
Local skin infection
Diabetes
A 70-year-old diabetic with foot ulcer. What is the EDX contraindication?
Neuropathy symptom
Open wound at electrode site
Age
Weakness foot muscle
A patient has severe thrombocytopenia with a platelet count of 10,000/µL.
What is the safest approach regarding needle EMG?
Proceed carefully
Needle EMG is safe
if you use
a small needle
No precautions needed
Avoid needle EMG
Which of the following conditions is a contraindication
for performing a needle EMG test?
Patient taking
aspirin 81 mg/day
Patient on warfarin with last INR = 2.0
A 90-year-old
patient
Patient on warfarin with last INR = 5.0
A 25-year-old man presents with acute radial nerve palsy after sleeping with
his arm compressed yesterday. Wrist drop is present.
Should you perform EDX today?
NO
YES
Not sure
Should perform tomorrow
Why is after 2–3 weeks = the optimal time for electrodiagnostic (EDX) testing
after an acute nerve injury?
Nerves fully recover by this time
Allows the surrounding muscles to regain strength
To calm down patient
Both nerve conduction study (NCS) and electromyography (EMG) abnormalities become detectable
