[Computer tomography in the diagnosis of neuromuscular diseases in children]

Recently in the literature occasional reports were published on the use of computed tomography (CT) in the diagnosis of neuromuscular diseases. The authors compared in a group of 23 children aged 3 to 15 years the results of clinical, laboratory, electromyographic, bioptic and CT findings on muscles. Only in four children the result of CT did not correlate with the clinical finding because of the incipient stage of the disease with structural changes which were yet only slightly expressed. Consistent with data in the literature it was possible from the CT to differentiate primary myopathies from neurogenic ones. The objective of the work was to prove the assets of the new method in the diagnosis of neuromuscular diseases, in particular in young children who do not cooperate during routine EMG examinations. There CT is an important guide for selective EMG and in particular for aimed bioptic studies which still hold priority in the specification of the disease. In already diagnosed and treated patients it is possible to investigate by means of CT the course of the disease by a non-invasive approach.