Pictorial Report Form for Nerve Conduction Studies

Excerpt

Once a nerve conduction study is completed, the results must be communicated. Typical reports of nerve conduction studies contain tabular listings of latencies, electrode distances, potential amplitudes, and calculated conduction velocities, followed by an interpretation. This method of reporting is often unsatisfactory because the relationship of the data to anatomy is often unclear to clinicians. In addition, changes occurring on follow-up study are difficult for the referring clinician to understand.

We developed a pictorial representation of the data from nerve conduction studies. Figures 1a and 1b show the form used for reporting the common nerve conduction studies of upper and lower extremities. This format has been well received by nonelectromyographers, who believe they are able to understand more clearly the results. Moreover, since introducing this form, we have found a more informed use of nerve conduction studies.