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A new pitfall in a sensory conduction study of the lateral antebrachial cutaneous nerve: Spread to the radial nerve
Author(s) -
Oishi Chizuko,
Sonoo Masahiro,
Kurono Hiroko,
Hatanaka Yuki,
Shimizu Teruo,
Chiba Atsuro,
Sakuta Manabu
Publication year - 2014
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.24129
Subject(s) - radial nerve , antidromic , snap , anatomy , sensory nerve , medicine , elbow , cutaneous nerve , sensory system , median nerve , stimulus (psychology) , forearm , electrophysiology , neuroscience , biology , psychology , computer graphics (images) , computer science , psychotherapist
: We describe a previously unreported pitfall, spread of the stimulus at the elbow to the radial nerve, in an antidromic sensory nerve conduction study of the lateral antebrachial cutaneous (LAC) nerve. Methods : Subjects consisted of 80 healthy volunteers, and both sides were examined for each subject. Besides routine recording of the LAC nerve, sensory nerve action potentials (SNAPs) of the radial nerve were recorded distally. Results : The spread phenomenon occurred in 73 of 160 arms (46%), and the SNAP amplitude increased due to contamination of the radial SNAP up to 6.7 times the genuine LAC SNAP. In 10 arms (6%), the spread started before the LAC SNAP was saturated, and the genuine LAC SNAP was unknown due to an anatomical variation in at least 1 arm. Conclusions : Without monitoring distal radial SNAPs, the spread phenomenon will remain unrecognized. This pitfall undermines the reliability of the test. Muscle Nerve 50:186–192, 2014