title: Requests for electromyography in Rome: a critical evaluation.
abstract: To date, there exist no data reporting the level of suitability of requests for electromyography examinations (EMGs) in Rome. The records of 1,220 consecutive patients (age: 57.6±15.0 years; 400 M, 820 F) in two neurophysiology laboratories were collected and analyzed. In total, 1,317 EMGs were requested, mainly by general practitioners (GPs) (57%) and orthopedic specialists (18%). The most common diagnoses were L4-L5 radiculopathy (22%) and carpal tunnel syndrome (21%); 332 examinations (25%) were normal. 68% of requests were not accompanied by any specific query. The concordance between initial hypothesis/final post-EMG diagnosis was low (<20%). When a specific query was indicated, the initial suspicion was confirmed by EMG in 54% of GP requests and 64% of requests by specialists (p=0.03). No difference in diagnostic ability was found between specialists (p>0.05). In 17% of cases, the EMG was deemed diagnostically useless by the neurophysiologist, which seems to indicate potentially suboptimal prescription of EMGs.
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Di Fabio
authors.forename: Claudio
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Castagnoli
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Madrigale
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Barella
authors.forename: Mariano
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Serrao
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pierelli
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D004576:Electromyography / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012384:Rome; D055815:Young Adult