[Translated article] Triggered electromyography (tEMG) in the lumbar spine it's reliable? Correlation of tEMG with postoperative CT images in lumbar instrumentation

Instrumentation with pedicle screws (PS) can compromise the adjacent neural structures. Triggered electromyography (tEMG) is a modality of intraoperative neuromonitoring, used to assist in the placement of these. The objective of the present study is to evaluate the reliability of this tool. Retrospective review of patients underwent posterior lumbar fusions from January 2017 to December 2019, correlating postoperative CT images (postop CT) with tEMG results for each PS with a threshold of 10mA, establishing sensitivity and specificity of this tool. Diagnostic test and receiver operating characteristic curve were performed to evaluate the area under the curve. A total of 275 PS were evaluated between L1 to S1; 5 PS showed concordance for an inadequate trajectory, while 10 PS, with tEMG