Monograph: Normative Data in Electrodiagnostic Medicine-Article

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This article discusses the principles of acquiring and using normative data in electrodiagnostic medicine. It highlights the common flaws in normative data such as vague clinical criteria for establishing freedom from disease, small sample sizes, and the use of Gaussian statistics for non-Gaussian variables. The article proposes standards for normative data, including standardized determination of freedom from disease, larger sample sizes, proportional stratification of subjects for relevant variables, testing Gaussian fit, and presenting data by percentiles when Gaussian fit is in doubt. The importance of having high-quality normative data accessible for accurate electrodiagnosis of neuromuscular diseases is emphasized.<br /><br />The article also mentions the challenges in acquiring normative data, such as difficulty in recruiting normal subjects, lack of funding for normative studies, and the perception that compiling normative data is not beneficial for career advancement. It presents recommendations for improving the acquisition and analysis of normative data, aiming to make readers more informed and critical consumers of normative data. Finally, the article suggests that normative data should be easily accessible and presented in tabular format for clinical use.

Keywords

normative data

electrodiagnostic medicine

acquiring normative data

flaws in normative data

clinical criteria

sample sizes

Gaussian statistics

data presentation

neuromuscular diseases

accessibility of normative data