NCS-F WAVE USES & LIMITATIONS

SUMMARY

USES
1. Acquired demyelinating polyneuropathies (AIDP, Guillain-Barre syndrome): where the F wave is absent or has delayed latency reflecting pathology at the root.

2. Provides early info about proximal conduction in traumatic neuropathies, before distal Wallerian degeneration occurs.

LIMITATIONS
3. Because they only involve a few axons, lesions affecting some axons may be missed.

4. F waves measure conduction over long distances, hence focal pathologies can be missed.

Reference(s)

Wilkinson, I., Furmedge, D. and Sinharay, R. (2017). Oxford handbook of clinical medicine. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Get it on Amazon.
Feather, A., Randall, D. and Waterhouse, M. (2020). Kumar And Clark’s Clinical Medicine. 10th ed. S.L.: Elsevier Health Sciences. Get it on Amazon.
Hannaman, R. A., Bullock, L., Hatchell, C. A., & Yoffe, M. (2016). Internal medicine review core curriculum, 2017-2018. CO Springs, CO: MedStudy.
Therapeutic Guidelines. Melbourne: Therapeutic Guidelines Limited. https://www.tg.org.au [Accessed 2021].