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Fibrillation potential onset in peripheral nerve injury
Author(s) -
Willmott Andrew D.,
White Chris,
Dukelow Sean P.
Publication year - 2012
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.23310
Subject(s) - guideline , medicine , denervation , fibrillation , atrial fibrillation , ventricular fibrillation , nerve injury , peripheral nerve injury , peripheral nerve , physical medicine and rehabilitation , anesthesia , intensive care medicine , cardiology , pathology , anatomy
Fibrillation potentials are an accepted electrical marker of muscle denervation that occur in axonal nerve injury. Clinically, they are used to determine the type of, and prognosis for nerve injuries. The time of occurrence after nerve injury plays a critical role in clinical decision making. This study explores the evolution of the generally accepted guideline that fibrillation potentials occur 1 to 4 weeks after axonal nerve injury. Methods: Pubmed, Ovid, and EMBASE, and current textbooks were reviewed. References were recursively followed back to the initial description of fibrillation potentials. Results: The majority of our understanding regarding the timing of onset of fibrillation potentials appears to arise from animal experiments in the mid‐20th century. Conclusions: Despite frequent use in human clinical care, published evidence for the 1 to 4 week guideline comes almost entirely from animal studies. An appreciation of this background and resulting limitations aids clinical application of this guideline. Muscle Nerve 46: 332–340, 2012