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Tetany is a disease of the muscular system caused by calcium and magnesium deficiencies in the body. It is often a tough nut for doctors to crack because it comes in two forms with different symptoms. One of these forms is fairly simple to diagnose, while the other shows non-specific symptoms. Therefore, a special test is performed to identify tetany, which is the tetany test. Find out in what cases and how the tetany test is performed.
When is the tetany test performed?
Tetany is a disease that comes in two forms. In the overt form, it manifests itself primarily with characteristic seizures. These begin with a tingling sensation in the fingers and around the mouth. Then the muscles of the entire face, as well as of the arms and legs begin to show strong, unmanageable contractions. In extreme cases, the muscles of the larynx contract, which may make it impossible for the patient to breathe and cause a life-threatening situation. In addition, seizures are accompanied by psychological symptoms such as anxiety, anxiety or strong agitation. This combination of symptoms is so specific that the doctor’s main task is to make sure that you are not dealing with someone suffering from one of the forms of epilepsy.
It causes bigger problems tetany in latent form, also called spasmophilia. Despite the same causes as in the case of the overt form (i.e. calcium and magnesium deficiency), it has a very wide, non-uniform range of symptoms. Instead of seizures, we deal with, among others, chronic states of muscle spasms and pain, fatigue, anxiety, difficulties in maintaining attention, sometimes panic attacks, stuttering, hand tremors, circulatory disorders and many others. All these symptoms are nonspecific, which means that they characterize more than one disease and the fact that they occur is not the doctor’s ability to conclude that they are a patient with latent tetany. For this reason, the disease often remains undiagnosed and, consequently, untreated, despite the fact that proper supplementation of the missing chemical compounds gives a good chance for recovery. The only study that can give unambiguous information about the occurrence tetany, is tetany test. Therefore, the indication for its conduct is the presence of any of the above symptoms with no signs specific to other diseases.
What is the tetany test?
Tetany test belongs to electromyographic studies, that is, to study the electrical potentials in muscles and nerves. In the case of this test, it mainly consists in recognizing the electrostatic potential of muscles characteristic of tetany or the exclusion of this disease.
Before tetany test all dietary supplements, especially those containing magnesium, should be discontinued, so as not to falsify the test results. This should be done about 4 days before the scheduled examination. Preparations for tetany test immediately before its performance, they only include informing the doctor about diseases and operations on the upper limb and its surroundings, as well as ensuring unhindered access to it, such as items of clothing or jewelry.
The doctor places a tourniquet on the patient’s arm and a grounding strap on the patient’s wrist. In addition, a needle electrode is placed on the hand between the thumb and forefinger through a gentle puncture. The doctor then inflates the tourniquet for 10 minutes. After this time, the pressure on the clamp is released and the electrode starts measuring at the same time. It takes 5 minutes. In the last two minutes, the patient may be asked to hyperventilate, that is, breathe extremely deeply.
As the electrode performs its measurement on a regular basis, you do not have to wait for the test results. The doctor on the spot reads and interprets the measurements, stating the presence or absence tetany.