Peripheral Nervous System and Neuromuscular Disorders in the Emergency Department: A Review
Authors: Ajith Sivadasan, Miguel A Cortel-LeBlanc, Achelle Cortel-LeBlanc, Hans Katzberg
Published in: Academic Emergency Medicine, 2024 February 29
Conclusions:
- Early diagnosis and management of NMDs can significantly improve patient outcomes. This review provides emergency physicians with a detailed overview of acute NMD presentations, aiding in prompt and effective patient care.
Methods:
- Conducted an extensive literature search for relevant studies, prioritizing meta-analyses, systematic reviews, and position statements to support recommendations.
Summary:
- NMDs have a wide range of clinical presentations and etiologies, including neurotoxic envenomations, infections, autoimmune diseases like Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) and myasthenia gravis (MG).
- Delayed diagnosis is common, especially with "de novo" presentations, predominant respiratory failure, or atypical cases such as GBS variants, severe autonomic dysfunction, or rhabdomyolysis.
- Disorders of the central nervous system, systemic, and musculoskeletal disorders may mimic NMD presentations.