Schuhfried Othmar, Angst Martina, Herceg Malvina, Paternostro-Sluga Tatjana
Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Medical University of Vienna, Austria.
Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2005 Oct;86(10):2047-50. doi: 10.1016/j.apmr.2004.11.019.
To determine the interexaminer repeatability of the ulnar antidromic sensory nerve conduction velocity (NCV).
Test-retest design. Based on a randomization list of various combinations and sequences from 2 of a total of 3 examiners, the measurement was repeated within half an hour by a second examiner blinded to the results of the first examiner.
Outpatient department.
Twenty-four consecutive healthy subjects (mean age, 38 y).
Not applicable.
The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and the coefficient of repeatability (CR) were determined for the below elbow to wrist (BE-to-W), above elbow to below elbow (AE-to-BE), and axilla to above elbow (AX-to-AE) segments.
The ICC was .42 for the BE-to-W, .15 for the AE-to-BE, and -.05 for the AX-to-AE segment. The CR was 12.2m/s for the BE-to-W, 16.2m/s for the AE-to-BE, and 21.4m/s for the AX-to-AE segment.
During the assessment of the antidromic sensory NCV of the ulnar nerve, a moderate amount of interexaminer variability must be taken into account for the BE-to-W segment. More proximally, an extremely large amount of interexaminer variability must be taken into account. This calls into question the usefulness of the antidromic ulnar sensory NCV for the AX-to-AE and AE-to-BE segments.
