Approach to electrodiagnostic testing in children

Performing nerve conduction studies and electromyography in children shares the same fundamental principles with electrodiagnostic studies performed in adults. The nerves and muscles available for testing are mostly the same, electrode placement is similar, and data interpretation relies on the same basic physiology. However, there are nevertheless important differences that should be emphasized. Without sedation, younger children as well as those with developmental delay or cognitive impairment will often have difficulty tolerating the comprehensive nerve conduction studies involving as many as a dozen different motor and sensory nerves as well as extensive needle examination of multiple extremities that is more typical of adult studies. Older children and adolescents are more likely to tolerate the scale of testing that is familiar to adult neurophysiologists.