Nerve Conduction Test
The Assignment#1 – (3–4 pages, not including title and reference pages):
Assignment Option 1: Adult Assessment Tools or Diagnostic Tests: Nerve Conduction Test:
Include following:
- A description of how the assessment tool or diagnostic test you were assigned is used in health care.
- What is its purpose?
- How is it conducted?
- What information does it gather?
- Based on your research, evaluate the test or the tool’s validity and reliability, and explain any issues with sensitivity, reliability, and predictive values. Include references in appropriate APA formatting.
PLEASE include all the information in your paper
All scholarly resources should be properly cited and referenced to give credit to the original source and author. Any content that is not your own must be synthesized or quoted, and you should avoid any direct copying and pasting.
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What sources should I avoid?
- Informal blogs, internet posts and websites that are not part of a scholarly review process. This includes popular hospital websites (such as MayoClinic.org), Patient facing websites with information designed for the patient, not the provider (such as WebMD, Healthline and MedicineNet, among many others), and UptoDate.com. Information should not be utilized from UptoDate.com since all information is a synthesis of the most up to date literature available. If you wish to use information from UpToDate, use the original sources, not the UpToDate website
- Nerve Conduction Test
Different diagnostic tools and tests are involved in the patient diagnosis process. According to Electromyography (EMG) and Nerve Conduction Studies, (n.d), the success of healthcare delivery is based on the ability of the physician to conduct the right primary diagnosis process to understand the patients’ clinical state. Additionally, diagnostic tests are tests used to diagnose a condition or disease. For example, colonoscopies, mammograms, and nerve conduction velocity tests, among others. One of the tests that have become important in addressing nerve-related problems is the Nerve Conduction Study (NCS), also known as Nerve Conduction Velocity (NCV). This paper provides a detailed analysis of the nerve conduction test, its application in healthcare, its purpose, how the test is conducted, and the information gathered.
A Nerve Conduction Velocity Test (NCVT) is used to identify nerve damage and the location of the damage. The test also evaluates how fast electrical impulses move through a patient’s nerve (Chouhan et al., 2021). In other words, the NCVT is a diagnostic test in the medical field commonly used to evaluate the functionality of the human body’s sensory nerves and the motor, more so the ability for electrical conduction. Qualified specialists conduct these tests in the medical field, such as physical therapists, physiatrists, neurologists, and clinical neurophysiologists. The focused test (NCS) is carried out to find as well as evaluate the damage to nerves that leads from the brain and spinal cord to other smaller nerves which branch from the main nervous system (brain and spinal) (Ali Hossam Abd, 2021).
How it is used in healthcare
A doctor may order for the nerve conduction test in an effort to help and diagnose different muscle and nerve related disorders. On the other hand, the test is used to provide the most accurate and sensitive account with regard to peripheral neuropathophysiology. The tests hence provides information such as nature of the pathophysiology, severity quantification of the nerve damage, detection of the neurologic deficit level as well as determining prognosis. For the tests to be effective in terms of results obtained, the nerve conduction studies should conventionally be executed with EMG more so conducted consecutively. Finally, the conduction tests are key in establishing the best befitting therapy by the physician to the patient.
Its Purpose
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Different tests are deployed to help identify the problem when the patient’s muscles are weak and sore due to the unknown reason. One is nerve conduction study, and the other is electromyography. These tests are undertaken to identify either muscle or nerve problems (Shibata et al., 2019). The nervous system utilizes neurons to send and receive messages or signals throughout the human body. The electrical signals send a message by traveling between one’s brain, skin, organs, muscles, and glands; these messages are critical as they help one move the limbs and feel sensations, i.e., pain. Secondly, the test is indispensable in diagnosing nerve disorders such as Guillain Barre Syndrome or carpal syndrome (Chouhan et al., 2021). Thirdly, the test is used to find the location within the body that may have abnormal sensations such as pain, tingling, or numbness.
The NCV test is often carried out together with an EMG test, which is used to differentiate between a nerve disorder and a muscle disorder (Shibata et al., 2019). While the NCV test on its side identifies any problem that may be affecting the nerve, the EMG (Electromyography) detects whether the muscle being investigated is working properly in response to a nerve stimulus. In addition to being utilized to identify the problem with muscles and nerves in the body, the test is conducted to rule out conditions that a patient may not be having. The test plays an integral role in diagnosing neuromuscular diseases, nerve tissues in the body, and peripheral nerve-related problems.
How the Nerve Conduction Test is conducted & Information Gathered
The NVC test may be carried out on an outpatient basis or during one’s hospital stay. It can be done within an office or hospital setting. Several doctors may oversee the test process. The technician puts patches or electrodes on the patient skin over the region or nerve causing the identified symptoms. A mild electrical impulse is run into the nerve via the electrode patches. They are also regarded as shock-emitting electrodes. Another recording electrode is placed over the muscle with the nerve under study. Brief electrical pulses are run through the nerve, and the patient should be ready for the procedures as he will feel some tingling sensation and twitching of the muscle. While the test is uncomfortable for some people, it makes some feel nervous but is risky. The test records are taken on the time it takes for the muscle to respond to the impulses.
Conduction velocity is the speed of response in cases where the Nerve conduction tests are done together with EMG. They are done first and take approximately 15 minutes or more, depending on how serious the symptoms are and how many areas are being studied. The results drawn from nerve conduction tests indicate whether the nerves transmit electrical impulses to the sensory nerves or the muscle at the right and normal speed (conduction velocity) (Tamaru et al., 2021).). Slow conduction velocity may be caused by damage or nerve injury, as with Carpal tunnel syndrome. The voltage used in the test is very low; hence there are known long-term side effects of NCV testing, with the main discomfort being short-term. This is discomfort from the impulse stimulation. Nevertheless, the patient should tell the care provider if one has a pacemaker or cardiac defibrillator, as in case such, precautions need to be taken. The test risk may, in turn, be dependent on one’s other health conditions
Test Validity, Reliability, and Sensitivity Issues
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The NCV testing results record the strength and speed of nerve signals with conduction velocities of 50-60m/sec considered normal. In the case of a damaged nerve, the speed by slower and the signal is weaker (Suthar et al., 2022). While the test results are valid and reliable, the validity and reliability aspects may affect a patient’s overall health. Being too cold or too warm may alter the test validity. On the other hand, the test results reliability is defined by the ability of the obtained results to identify the underlying nerve problem. The specialist report may advocate for further tests about the problem before a treatment plan is drawn up. Treatment may comprise surgical process, change of lifestyle, or medications. While the nerve conduction tests are critical in identifying underlying nerve issues, they do not offer any solution but rather provide the doctor with key information about the issues, hence planning one’s treatment plan.
References
Ali Hossam Abd, E. M., & Al-Adl, A. (2021). Neurophysiological biomarkers of peripheral nervous system affection in patients with stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The Egyptian Journal of Neurology, Psychiatry, and Neurosurgery, 57(1) https://doi.org/10.1186/s41983-021-00400-6
Chouhan, S., Tiwari, V. K., & Sharma, H. B. (2021). Motor nerve conduction velocity in median nerve: An observational study in adult healthy males with intact palmaris longus for normative reference value. National Journal of Physiology, Pharmacy and Pharmacology, 11(7), 782-788. https://doi.org/10.5455/njppp.2021.11.05154202111062021
Electromyography (EMG) and Nerve Conduction Studies. (n.d.). MedLine Plus. Retrieved June 15, 2022, from https://medlineplus.gov/lab-tests/electromyography-emg-and-nerve-conduction-studies/
Shibata, Y., Himeno, T., Kamiya, T., Tani, H., Nakayama, T., Kojima, C., Sugiura-Roth, Y., Naito, E., Kondo, M., Tsunekawa, S., Kato, Y., Nakamura, J., & Kamiya, H. (2019). Validity and reliability of a point-of-care nerve conduction device in diabetes patients. Journal of diabetes investigation, 10(5), 1291–1298. https://doi.org/10.1111/jdi.13007
Suthar, H. R., Goplani, V. L., Prajapati, P., & Pandial, V. (2022). Influence of aging on nerve conduction properties in healthy individuals: A cross-sectional study. National Journal of Physiology, Pharmacy and Pharmacology, 12(3), 356-359. https://doi.org/10.5455/njppp.2022.12.07263202124092021
Tamaru, Y., Yanagawa, A., & Matsugi, A. (2021). Sensory nerve conduction velocity predicts improvement of hand function with nerve gliding exercise following carpal tunnel release surgery. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 10(18), 4121. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm10184121