Utility of the H-reflex in diagnosing polyneuropathy
- Resource Type
- Authors
- Kirsten Pugdahl; Hatice Tankisi; Oda H Teigland; Anders Fuglsang-Frederiksen
- Source
- Teigland, O, Pugdahl, K, Fuglsang-Frederiksen, A & Tankisi, H 2019, ' Utility of the H-reflex in diagnosing polyneuropathy ', Muscle & Nerve, vol. 60, no. 4, pp. 424-428 . https://doi.org/10.1002/mus.26639
- Subject
- Adult
Male
Reflex, Stretch
0301 basic medicine
Physiology
diagnosis
Neural Conduction
nerve conduction studies
Physical examination
030105 genetics & heredity
Achilles Tendon
Sensitivity and Specificity
Hoffman reflex
H-Reflex
Polyneuropathies
03 medical and health sciences
Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience
0302 clinical medicine
Physiology (medical)
medicine
Humans
In patient
Aged
Reflex, Abnormal
medicine.diagnostic_test
business.industry
Electrodiagnosis
Middle Aged
medicine.disease
Ankle jerk reflex
Reflex
Female
Neurology (clinical)
polyneuropathy
H-reflex
Nerve conduction
business
Nuclear medicine
Polyneuropathy
Achilles reflex
030217 neurology & neurosurgery
- Language
- English
Introduction: An absent Hoffman (H)-reflex, the electrophysiological equivalent of the Achilles reflex, is assumed to be one of the first detectable signs of polyneuropathy (PNP). In this study we compare the H- and Achilles reflexes in patients with suspected PNP to evaluate the diagnostic utility of the H-reflex. Methods: Data from clinical examination and nerve conduction studies (NCS) were analyzed in patients with suspected PNP. Results: The PNP diagnosis was confirmed by follow-up in 209 patients. The sensitivities of the H- and Achilles reflexes were similar (70.3% vs 71.8%), whereas the H-reflex had higher specificity (85.2% vs 70.5%) (P