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Practical guidance for managing electromyography requests and testing during the COVID ‐19 pandemic
Author(s) -
Kassardjian Charles D.,
Desai Urvi,
Narayanaswami Pushpa
Publication year - 2020
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.26891
Subject(s) - pandemic , covid-19 , electromyography , computer science , medicine , medical emergency , virology , physical medicine and rehabilitation , infectious disease (medical specialty) , outbreak , disease
The COVID‐19 pandemic has necessitated cancelation of elective or nonurgent contact with the healthcare system, including nonurgent nerve conduction studies and electromyography (electrodiagnostic [EDX] studies). The definitions of elective and nonurgent are physician judgments, and often are not straightforward. Clinical care must be provided to help our patients in a timely manner, while keeping them, healthcare personnel, and the community safe. Benefit/risk stratification is an important part of this process. We have stratified EDX studies into three categories: Urgent, Non‐urgent, and Possibly Urgent, in an effort to help clinicians triage these referrals. For each category, we provide a rationale and some examples. However, each referral must be reviewed on a case‐by‐case basis, and the clinical situation will evolve over time, necessitating flexibility in managing EDX triaging. Engaging the referring clinician and, at times, the patient, may be useful in the triage process.