A comparison of F waves in peripheral nerve disorders.
OBJECTIVE
F waves have become integral parts of nerve conduction studies in particular. F minimum (Fmin), the most commonly assessed latency, represents the largest and the fastest conducting fibers. The diagnostic yields of other F wave parameters are not obvious. In the present study, we aimed to determine the value of F wave parameters in commonly seen peripheral nerve disorders.


METHODS
We studied the F responses in 118 patients who had been diagnosed with different types of neuropathies, clinically and electrodiagnostically, and 68 individuals were used as controls: A total of 470 motor nerve conduction studies and related F-wave parameters were analyzed.


CONCLUSIONS
F maximum (Fmax) was the most commonly seen abnormal parameter in the present study, although Fmin has until now been the most commonly studied parameter in clinics routinely. Abnormalities of F waves were more frequently seen in the patients compared to those in the control group and the differences were significant for carpal tunnel syndrome and upper extremity radiculopathies.


CONCLUSIONS
This large database showed that F wave evaluations should include not only Fmin but also Fmax.
Koçer
Abdulkadir
A
Neurology Department, PTT Education and Research Hospital, Düzee, Turkey. abdulkadirkocer@yahoo.com
Gözke
Eren
E
Dörtcan
Nimet
N
Us
Onder
O
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002349:Carpal Tunnel Syndrome / Q000503:physiopathology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004576:Electromyography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009046:Motor Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D009469:Neuromuscular Junction / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011115:Polyneuropathies / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011843:Radiculopathy / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D009435:Synaptic Transmission / Q000502:physiology*