Key result
Clinical diagnoses show moderate concordance with EMG but low specificity for carpal tunnel and polyneuropathy.
Why the study?
Does clinical preliminary diagnosis concord with electrophysiological findings in patients referred for suspected entrapment neuropathies or polyneuropathy?
Does clinical preliminary diagnosis concord with electrophysiological findings in patients referred for suspected entrapment neuropathies or polyneuropathy?
Clinical preliminary diagnoses for entrapment neuropathies and polyneuropathy show only moderate concordance with EMG findings, highlighting the need for improved clinical assessment to reduce unnecessary testing.
Moderate concordance warrants EMG confirmation before intervention; leaves open whether refined clinical criteria can reduce testing.
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the concordance between clinical preliminary diagnoses and electrophysiological diagnoses obtained through electromyography (EMG) in patients referred with suspected entrapment neuropathies or polyneuropathy. METHODS: In this retrospective descriptive study, 3,683 EMG reports from patients referred to the EMG unit of Samsun Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Hospital between June 1, 2023, and February 10, 2025, were reviewed. All EMG procedures were performed and interpreted by the same physiatrist. Patient age, sex, clinical preliminary diagnoses, and final electrophysiological findings were recorded. Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. RESULTS: Of the patients, 75.4% were female, with a mean age of 54.6 ± 14.1 years. The most common referral diagnoses were carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) (62.4%), polyneuropathy (PNP) (34.1%), cubital tunnel syndrome (CuTS) (2.6%), meralgia paresthetica (MP) (0.7%), and tarsal tunnel syndrome (TTS) (0.2%). EMG. CONCLUSION: The concordance between clinical and EMG diagnoses was generally moderate. In CTS and PNP, specificity was notably low. Improving clinical assessment and referral accuracy may enhance diagnostic precision and reduce unnecessary testing and patient waiting times.
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Zafer Ceyhan (2026) studied this question. Clinical preliminary diagnoses in 3,683 EMG referrals showed moderate concordance with electrophysiological findings, with notably low specificity for carpal tunnel syndrome and polyneuropathy.
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