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Median and ulnar nerve conduction studies among workers: Normative values
Author(s) -
Salerno Deborah F.,
Franzblau Alfred,
Werner Robert A.,
Bromberg Mark B.,
Armstrong Thomas J.,
Albers James W.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
muscle and nerve
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.025
H-Index - 145
eISSN - 1097-4598
pISSN - 0148-639X
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-4598(199808)21:8<999::aid-mus3>3.0.co;2-0
Subject(s) - nerve conduction , ulnar nerve , normative , median nerve , medicine , electrodiagnosis , nerve conduction study , nerve conduction velocity , anatomy , physical medicine and rehabilitation , surgery , political science , elbow , law
To determine normative values for nerve conduction studies among workers, we selected a subset of 326 workers from 955 subjects who participated in medical surveys in the workplace. The reference cohort was composed exclusively of active workers, in contrast to the typical convenience samples. Nerve conduction measures included bilateral median and ulnar sensory amplitude and latency (onset and peak). Workers with upper extremity symptoms, medical conditions that could adversely affect peripheral nerve function, low hand temperature, or highly repetitive jobs were excluded from the “normal” cohort. Linear regression models explained between 21% and 51% of the variance in nerve function, with covariates of age, sex, hand temperature, and anthropometric factors. The most robust models were fitted for sensory amplitudes in the median and ulnar nerves for dominant and nondominant hands. The median–ulnar difference was least sensitive to adjustment, indicating it is the best measure to use if corrections are not made to account for relevant covariates. A key point was that the magnitude of variance increased with age and anthropometric factors. These findings provide strong evidence that to improve diagnostic accuracy, electrodiagnostic testing should control for relevant covariates, particularly age, sex, hand temperature, and anthropometric factors. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Muscle Nerve 21:999–1005, 1998.