Electromyography and Nerve Conduction Studies Periprocedural Care

Updated: Aug 20, 2018
  • Author: Stephen Kishner, MD, MHA; Chief Editor: Jonathan P Miller, MD  more...
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Periprocedural Care

Patient Education and Consent

Patient instructions

No patient preparation is necessary, but patients should remove their jewelry and avoid using any skin lotions on the day of testing.

Consent

Verbal or written consent must be obtained from patient or caretaker if the patient lacks decision-making capacity. Diagnostic purpose and benefits should be explained. The patient should also be informed about what to expect from different components of the exam to help reduce anxiety that may occur. With EMG, there is a risk of minimal bleeding and hematoma and the patient should disclose any bleeding disorders or use of anticoagulants. The patient should also disclose whether they have implanted electrical devices such as pacemakers, defibrillators, AICDs, spinal cord stimulators, and so on. There is minimal risk of infection from needle insertion and any recent infections or use of antibiotics should be disclosed. [13]

 

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Equipment

Many commercial EMG and nerve conduction study units are available.

Several manufacturers produce computer-based EMG equipment. This generally includes a stimulator, amplifier, preamplifier, speaker, computer, printer, and many different electrodes.

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Patient Preparation

EMG and nerve conduction studies are routine studies done in a physician’s office or ambulatory clinic. No special preparation is necessary except that patients should refrain from using any skin lotions prior to the test.

Patients should be thoroughly evaluated to plan the study. The procedure should be explained to the patient prior to commencing the study.

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Anesthesia

No anesthesia is generally used for this procedure.

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Positioning

The patient will have to move in different positions depending on what areas of the body are examined.

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Monitoring & Follow-up

There is no recovery period as anesthesiology is generally not used.

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