تقييم كهروتشخيصي لمرضى اعتلال جذور الاعصاب العنقية == ELECTRODIAGNOSTIC ASSESSMENT IN PATIENTS WITH CERVICAL RADICULOPATHY
Author name:
زينه سليم فخري
Supervisor name:
نجيب محمد | احسان محمد
General topic:
Medicine
Specific topic:
Physiology
Degree:
Doctorate
University:
University of Baghdad - Faculty Of Medicine
Language:
English
University location:
Baghdad
First pages:
19T1345 - p.pdf
Abstract:
Cervical radiculopathy can be defined as pain in a radicular pattern in one or both upper extremities related to compression and/or irritation of one or more cervical nerve roots. In the electrodiagnostic laboratory, various types of electrodiagnostic studies may be considered when evaluating a patient for cervical radiculopathy. Potential tests including (needle electromyography, motor and sensory nerve conduction studies, late responses, and somatosensory evoked potentials) serves to confirm the presence of radiculopathy, establish the involved nerve root level, determine if axon loss or conduction block is present, grade the severity of the process, estimate the age of the radiculopathy and exclude other peripheral nerve diseases that mimic radiculopathy.The aim of this study was to approve the usefulness of the electrodiagnostic studies (NCS, EMG and SSEP) in the diagnosis of cervical radiculopathy, asses the role and accuracy of the SSEP test (specifically spinal N13 component) in the diagnosis of cervical radiculopathy, identify the extent and distribution of cervical paraspinal muscles denervation in cervical radiculopathy and match the electrodiagnostic results with imaging data in the localization of the root lesion involved.This is case control study had been conducted during the period from April 2016 to October 2017. Ninety five (95) patients with cervical radiculopathy with a mean age of (48.4±11) years and twenty six (26) healthy control subjects with a mean age of (45.2±10.1) years involved in the study. Each subject submitted for medical history, clinical examination and electrophysiological study using Nicolete Viking Quest , EMG, NCS, EP measuring system.XIIFor SNCS, Onset latency, SNAP amplitude and conduction velocity, while for MNCS, distal motor latency, CMAP amplitude and conduction velocity, in addition to the minimal F wave latency (that assess the late response) of median and ulnar nerves are performed.Whereas for right and left sides median nerve SSEP test, the following peak and interpeak latencies (1) N9; (2) N13; (3) N20; (4) N9 - N20; (5) N9 - N13 ; (6) N13 - N20 are measured.Concerning the needle EMG, the following parameters; insertional activity, spontaneous activity and motor units action potential characteristics (duration and phases) of the right and left trapezius, rhomboids major, deltoid, biceps, triceps, extensor indicis and first dorsal interosseous muscles are considered and recorded. In addition to the assessment of the spontaneous activity of the cervical paraspinal muscles.The results of this study revealed that there are significant differences; higher values for the patients when compared with that of control groups regarding Rt and Lt sides N13 peak latency, N9 - N13 and N13 - N20 inter - peak latency. Moreover, the sensitivity of SSEP components in comparison with the MRI (as a gold standard) is the higher for that of spinal N13.From the EMG and MRI findings, C6 and C7 cervical roots are the most roots affected in respect to C5, C8 or C4 roots.Consequently, there are mismatching in the percentages of cervical radiculopathies when diagnosed by the MRI of the cervical spine, needle EMG of the upper limbs muscles and that of the cervical paraspinal muscles, in such a way that Rt C7 radiculopathy 71.6% by cervical spine MRI mismatched with that of upper limbs EMG (66.3%) and 5.3% by the cervical paraspinal muscles.However, the percentages of each level of cervical radiculopathy proved to be higher by the combination of the EMG abnormaities of the cervical paraspinalXIIImuscles with that of the upper limbs muscles than by using the EMG of the paraspinal muscles or upper limbs muscles in an isolation (for Rt C6 radiculopathy 4.2% by paraspinal muscles EMG, 66.3% by upper limb and 68.4% by combination.Furthermore, the sensitivity of the EMG in cervical radiculopathy (using the MRI as a gold standard) increases by the combination of the abnormalities of the cervical paraspinal muscles with that of the upper limbs muscles, for example the sensitivity of Lt C6 radiculopathies 89.9% by upper limbs EMG, 93.2% by the combination of the EMG of PSM with that of the upper limbs muscles.In conclusion, traditional electrodiagnostic tests (NCS, EMG and SSEP) proved to be useful and complementary to the clinical examination in the evaluation of patients with cervical radiculopathy. The benefit of SSEP test for the evaluation of radiculopathies is based on the fact that signs and symptoms in radiculopathies can usually be related to injury of the afferent fibers and the SSEP test can monitor injury to these fibers.In addition to, spinal N13 is a sensitive technique suitable for detecting early and mild symptomatic cervical nerve root lesion.Moreover, cervical paraspinal muscles EMG is complementary to the upper limbs muscles EMG since that significant percentages of cervical radiculopathy will be missed if the examination of PSM is not part of the electrodiagnostic evaluation of patients with suspected radiculopathy. Furthermore, the sensitivity of the needle EMG is increased by the combination of the EMG of the paraspinal muscles with that of the upper limbs muscles, without paraspinal muscles needle EMG the screen of cervical radiculopathy misses much of its sensitivity. Finally, EMG and MRI are valuable and complementary diagnostic tools in the localization and extent of the cervical roots lesion.
