Anesth Pain Med 2021;16:133-137 https://doi.org/10.17085/apm.21014 Review pISSN 1975-5171 • eISSN 2383-7977 The latest trend in neuromuscular monitoring: return of the electromyography Wonjin Lee1,2 Received February 14, 2021 1Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Busan Paik Hospital, 2Paik Institute Accepted February 21, 2021 for Clinical Research, Inje University College of Medicine, Busan, Korea To reduce the risk of residual neuromuscular blockade, neuromuscular monitoring must be performed. Acceleromyography (AMG)-based neuromuscular monitoring was regarded as “clinical gold standard” and widely applied. However, issues related to patient’s posture and Corresponding author overestimation of train-of-four ratio associated with AMG-based neuromuscular monitoring Wonjin Lee, M.D. have increased. Recently, electromyography (EMG)-based neuromuscular monitoring is re- Department of Anesthesiology and ceiving renewed attention, since it overcomes AMG’s weaknesses. However, both AMG- Pain Medicine, Busan Paik Hospital, KNRS Paik Institute for Clinical Research, based and EMG-based systems are useful when certain considerations are followed. Ulti- Inje University College of Medicine, 75 mately, to assure the patient’s good outcomes, the choice of monitoring system is not as im- Bokji-ro, Busanjin-gu, Busan 47392, portant as the monitoring itself, which should be always implemented in such patients. Korea Tel: 82-51-890-6520 Fax: 82-51-898-4216 Keywords: Delayed emergence from anesthesia; Electromyography; Neuromuscular block- E-mail:
[email protected] ing agents; Neuromuscular monitoring. INTRODUCTION methods for the residual neuromuscular blockade. The first peripheral nerve stimulator was developed in 1958 [7], A 2015 review [1] selected the two most relevant articles and thereafter, mechanomyography (MMG)- and electro- among 20 anesthesiology fields, and in the field of neuro- myography (EMG)-based measuring methods were devel- muscular blockers, the first was a report on the clinical use oped.