Pandemic experience of our electrophysiology laboratory

Year 2025, Volume: 6 Issue: 1, 9 - 13, 31.01.2025

İlknur Güçlü Altun , Ahmet Yıldırım , Rahşan Adviye İnan

Abstract

Objectives: Although the main symptoms of COVID-19 disease, which has caused serious effects worldwide, are fever and respiratory system findings, neurological involvement is common. Our study aimed to evaluate electromyography (EMG) and nerve conduction study (NCS) findings among COVID-19 patients, especially those with long-term hospitalizations, in whom neuromuscular symptoms were frequently reported, and to investigate the correlations between clinical diagnosis and electroneurophy-siological diagnosis.
Methods: This is a hospital-based retrospective observational study. Patients who were diagnosed with COVID-19 disease between March 2020 and March 2022 and sent to the electroneurophysiology labora-tory with neurological complaints and underwent nerve conduction study and EMG were included.
Results: Of the 60 patients, 26 were male and 34 were female. The mean age of the patients was 51.81±15.51 years. The mean time between COVID-19 diagnosis and EMG examination was 75.7±63.5 (15-240) days. Intensive care unit stay and mechanical ventilation requirement (3-36 days) were obser-ved in 15 patients (% 25). In 25 patients (% 41), preliminary diagnosis and EMG results were found to be compatible. Results of 25 patients were normal, 13 patients had sensory motor axonal polyneuro-pathy, 3 patients had acute polyneuropathy, 4 patients had myopathy, 3 patients had radiculopathy, 1 patient had inflammatory myopathy, 1 patient had newly diagnosed myasthenia gravis, and 10 patients had entrapment neuropathy findings.
Conclusion: Neurological involvement was shown in 1/3 of COVID-19 patients. Abnormalities were detected in EMG findings in 45 of 60 patients who were hospitalized due to COVID-19 and whose EMG tests were requested from our laboratory. However, critical illness neuropathy and myopathy were the most frequently reported in patients who required mechanical ventilation.

Keywords

COVID-19, Electroneurophysiology, Neuromuscular manifestations

Elektrofizyoloji laboratuvarımızın pandemi deneyimi

Abstract

Amaç: Dünya genelinde ciddi bir etkilenmeye neden olan COVID-19 hastalığının temel belirtileri ateş ve solunum sistemi bulguları olsa da nörolojik tutulum yaygındır. Çalışmamızda özellikle uzun süreli hastane yatışlarında nöromüsküler belirtilerin sık rapor edildiği COVID-19 hastaları arasında elektro-miyografi (EMG) ve sinir iletim çalışması (NCS) bulgularını değerlendirmek ve klinik tanı ile elektronö-rofizyolojik tanı arasındaki korelasyonları araştırmak amaçlanmıştır.
Yöntem: Hastane temelli retrospektif gözlemsel bir çalışmadır. Mart 2020 ile Mart 2022 tarihleri arasın-daki COVID-19 hastalığı tanısı alıp nörolojik yakınmalarla elektronörofizyoloji laboratuvarına gönde-rilen sinir ileti çalışması ve EMG yapılan hastalar dahil edildi.
Bulgular: 60 hastanın 26’sı erkek ve 34’ü kadındı. Hastaların yaş ortalaması 51,81± 15,51 yıldı. COVID-19 tanısı ile EMG incelemesi arasındaki süre ortalaması 75,7 ± 63,5 (15- 240) gündü. 15 hasta-da (% 25) yoğun bakımda yatış ve mekanik ventilasyon ihtiyacı ( 3- 36 gün) gözledi. 25 hastada (%41) ön tanı ile EMG sonucu uyumlu saptandı. 25 hastanın sonucu normal, 13 hastada duyusal motor aksonal polinöropati, 3 hastada akut polinöropati, 4 hastada miyopati, 3 hastada radikülopati, 1 hastada inflamatuar miyopati, 1 hastada yeni tanı miyastenia gravis, 10 hastada tuzak nöropati bulguları saptandı.
Sonuç: COVID-19 hastalarının 1/3’ünde nörolojik tutulum gösterilmiştir. COVID-19’a bağlı yatışı olan ve EMG laboratuvarımızdan tetkik istenen 60 hastanın 45’inde EMG bulgularında anormallik saptandı.Ayrıca mekanik ventilasyon ihtiyacı olan hastalarda en sık kritik hastalık nöropatisi ve miyo-patisi görülmüştür.

Keywords

COVID-19, Elektronörofizyoloji, Nöromuskuler belirtiler

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