The diagnostic value of electromyography in infantile hypotonia
R. J. Packer, M. J. Brown and P. H. Berman
There is controversy over the usefulness of electromyography (EMG) in the
examination of hypotonic infants with suspected neuromuscular disease. We
compared the initial EMG findings of 51 such children under 1 year of age
with their final clinical diagnoses determined by independent means. The
EMG predicted the final diagnosis in 82% of infants less than 4 months of
age and 85% of those over 4 months of age. Botulism was correctly
identified by EMG in nine of 11 cases. The EMG diagnosis was identical to
that obtained by muscle biopsy in 64% of cases in which biopsy was done,
and diagnosis obtained by the two methods were inconsistent in only 14%.
Electromyography is a sensitive and noninvasive diagnostic tool for the
diagnosis of neuromuscular disease in infantile hypotonia.
