Electrodiagnostic Findings in Post-Stroke Patients

Electrodiagnostic study is sometimes required for patients with stroke, which can develop various abnormalities. As there are little studies in this field, we designed a study to assess electro-diagnostic findings in cases with different post-stroke durations. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 30 cases at Imam Hospital between March 2016 and March 2018. We conducted electrodiagnostic tests such as SNAPs and CMAPs of all four limbs and electromyography of at least three muscles per limb. The electrodiagnostic findings are reported for all cases and non-diabetic cases only. Among the patients, 28 (93.3%) were male and two (6.7%) were female. The mean age was 58 ± 8.3 years, and the mean duration of acute cerebrovascular (CVA) event was 5.9 ± 4.1 months. Ten patients (33.3%) had diabetes. Moreover, 42% of the patients suffered peripheral polyneuropathy with different severities. Entrapment neuropathy was seen in the median nerve in 47% and in the ulnar nerve in 3% of the patients at the wrist. Seven cases with diabetes had carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) (70%) and the only patient with ulnar neuropathy had diabetes, too. In needle electromyography at rest, spontaneous activity was not detected in the examined muscles of the cases. Inactivity, upper motor neuron pattern was the prominent finding. Electrodiagnostic evaluation should be considered for patients with stroke to distinguish upper and lower motor neuron patterns or peripheral neuropathy.