Utility of Nerve Conduction Studies for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome by Family Medicine, Primary Care, and Internal Medicine Physicians

Clinical Outcomes of Electrodiagnostic Testing Conducted in Primary Care

“…31 This study was performed at one primary care clinic by one clinician. Although the case mix and rate of abnormalities were similar to previous reports from large, multicenter observational studies, 28,29 it is possible that the results will not generalize to other primary care clinics. One of the inherent limitations of diagnostic before-and-after studies is that assessments before and after tests by the same clinicians for the same patients may be interrelated, and therefore the independent impact of the diagnostic test cannot be determined.…”

“…The computerized EDX tests triggered a change in the clinical management plan in 30 cases (95% CI, [22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40]. The distribution of rates among the diagnostic categories was limited and heterogeneity was rejected.…”

“…This rate is similar to prior reports of multicenter observational studies. 28,29 The high rate of abnormal results implies that computerized EDX testing was used among patients with a high pretest probability of nerve dysfunction. In this situation, confirmation of the pretest diagnosis raises the probability of disease after the test to a high level, and thus gives the physician confidence that the patient has the condition.…”

“…Several large observational studies have evaluated the use of NCSs within primary care. 28,29 These studies showed that patient selection was appropriate and that computerized EDX testing results had the potential to alter pretest diagnoses. However, these studies did not specifically evaluate the clinical impact of testing.…”

Utilization of Nerve Conduction Studies for the Diagnosis of Polyneuropathy in Patients with Diabetes: A Retrospective Analysis of a Large Patient Series

“…13 With the aid of these advances, a wide array of physicians, including those in primary care, internal medicine, and endocrinology, have integrated NCS into their clinical practice. 14,15 Studies have shown that computer-based electrodiagnostic instruments are accurate and reliable 13 and have suggested that they may have an important role in the detection of DPN in primary diabetes care settings. 16,17 The primary aim of this study was to assess the utility of this technique in a large patient series.…”