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Electromyography of the anal sphincter: Which muscle to examine?
Author(s) -
Podnar Simon
Publication year - 2003
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/mus.10417
Subject(s) - electromyography , physical medicine and rehabilitation , medicine , anal sphincter , external anal sphincter , physical therapy , surgery , anal canal , rectum
Electromyographic examination of the deeper external anal sphincter (EAS) muscle is far more uncomfortable than of the subcutaneous muscle, so we tested the need for its examination. We compared the findings in 85 paired examinations of ipsilateral subcutaneous and deeper EAS muscles in 67 patients with a cauda equina lesion. When the other muscle was normal, the deeper or subcutaneous muscle was pathological in 18% or 13% of pairs, respectively. In addition, the subcutaneous EAS muscle was usually more severely affected than the deeper EAS muscle. Thus, examination of the deeper EAS muscle did not increase the sensitivity of MUP analysis significantly, and did not seem clinically necessary. Muscle Nerve 28: 377–379, 2003