Division of Neurology, Department of Medicine, St. Michael's Hospital, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Division of Neurology, Department of Pediatrics, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Muscle Nerve. 2022 Nov;66(5):621-624. doi: 10.1002/mus.27712. Epub 2022 Sep 15.
INTRODUCTION/AIMS: Electrodiagnostic testing (EDX) may be perceived as painful, which may influence patient expectations and test completion. Our aim was to characterize which component of the EDX was more painful, and to determine if any factors, particularly performance by a learner, influenced this perception.
Participants were prospectively recruited and completed a brief questionnaire to rate their perception of pain before and after each component of the EDX. Demographic information and information about the test itself was collected.
A total of 251 participants were recruited, 55.3% female, with a mean age of 52.9 y. Most participants rated pain after nerve conduction studies (NCS) and needle electromyography (EMG) as mild to moderate with a similar number rating each component as more painful than the other. There was no effect of sex on overall ratings, although females felt that the test was more painful than anticipated more often than males. If a learner performed the EMG, it was more likely that the test would be rated as moderately to severely painful, and more likely for the EMG to be rated as more painful than the NCS (p < .05).
The finding that NCS and EMG perceived pain were similar may help accurately inform patients of test expectations, guide test planning and help reduce the likelihood of incomplete or canceled testing. More effort might be required to help mitigate EMG pain when learners are involved.
简介/目的：电诊断测试（EDX）可能被认为是痛苦的，这可能会影响患者的期望和测试完成情况。我们的目的是描述 EDX 的哪个部分更痛苦，并确定是否有任何因素，特别是学习者的表现，会影响这种感知。
参与者前瞻性招募，并在完成 EDX 的每个部分前后完成简短问卷，以评估他们对疼痛的感知。收集了人口统计学信息和关于测试本身的信息。
共招募了 251 名参与者，其中 55.3%为女性，平均年龄为 52.9 岁。大多数参与者在神经传导研究（NCS）和针极肌电图（EMG）后将疼痛评为轻度至中度，同样数量的人将每个部分评为比其他部分更痛苦。性别对总体评分没有影响，尽管女性比男性更频繁地感到测试比预期的更痛苦。如果学习者进行 EMG，则更有可能将测试评为中度至重度疼痛，并且更有可能将 EMG 评为比 NCS 更痛苦（p < 0.05）。
发现 NCS 和 EMG 感知疼痛相似，这可能有助于准确告知患者测试预期，指导测试计划，并降低测试不完整或取消的可能性。当涉及到学习者时，可能需要更多的努力来帮助减轻 EMG 疼痛。
