Turns-amplitude analysis assessment of myopathies in HIV-infected patients

Electromyographic interference patterns during a gradual increase in force were studied by means of the turns-amplitude analysis in a series of HIV-infected patients with and without clinical, biological and histological signs of myopathy. Different parameters were evaluated to determine their sensitivity for the diagnosis of the myopathies that occur in this context. The studied parameters were the number of turns (NT), the mean amplitude of the turns (MA) and the ratio NT/MA (RTA). For each parameter, we compared the interest of mean values, calculated at moderate contraction, to that of peak values. In addition, the shape of the cloud of MA plotted versus NT data points was analyzed. The sensitivity of the turns-amplitude analysis was 95% for the diagnosis of myopathy when NT, MA and RTA were taken together into account, versus 80% in the cloud studies. Peak values were the most sensitive criteria, but mean values abnormalities were observed in some cases of zidovudine myopathy, indicating a potential usefulness of this quantitative EMG method in the differential diagnosis among myopathies in HIV-infected patients.