J Korean Neurol Assoc.  1988 Dec;6(2):210-217.

Diagnostic Value of Single Fiber Electromyography in Myasthenia Gravis in Korea

• Sunwoo IN

Abstract

Single fiber electromygraphy (SFEMG) is a special EMG technique to study the microphysiology of the motor unit in humans including the functional status of individual motor end-plates in situ, and is known to be a useful test for the diagnosis of neuromuscular juction disorders. To determine the clinical applicability of SFEMFG in this country, 74 SFEMG datas of 61 patients including 54 of myasthenia gravis have been analyzed. The overall ensitivity of SFEMG in myasthenia gravis was high upto 88% and almost all patients with generalized myasthenia gravis showed significant jittering. But the specificity of SFEMG was relatively low(57%) and SFEMG could not clearly differentiate various types of myasthenia gravis. In my experience, SFEMG is a expensive and time-consuming test and I think, at present, SFEMG might have some limitations in clinical usability in this country by the aspect of costeffectiveness.

MeSH Terms

Diagnosis
Electromyography*
Humans
Korea*
Motor Endplate
Myasthenia Gravis*
Sensitivity and Specificity