Edrophonium test

Written and reviewed by Dr Ibrahim Imam, Consultant Neurologist. Last reviewed .

Edrophonium test. Edrophonium is a short-acting acetylcholine esterase inhibitor. Fully referenced neurology checklist.

Procedure

  • Edrophonium is a short-acting acetylcholine esterase inhibitor
  • It is administered by intravenous injection
  • The test is carried out under cardiac and blood pressure monitoring
  • Atropine is kept available to reverse bradycardia
  • Infrared oculography may improve the sensitivity in ocular MG

Risks

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Causes of a false positive test

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Synonym

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References

  1. Thanvi BR, Lo TCN. Update on myasthenia gravis. Postgrad Med J 2004; 80:690–700.
  2. Jayam Trouth A, Dabi A, Solieman N, Kurukumbi M, Kalyanam J. Myasthenia gravis: a review. Autoimmune Dis 2012; 2012:874680.
  3. Tsunoda K, Fujimaki Y, Morita Y. Detectable voice change with the edrophonium test in laryngeal myasthenia gravis. J Int Med Res 2017; 45:1466-1469. 
  4. Williams IM, Dickinson P, Sum AC. Edrophonium test in myasthenia: quantitative oculography. Clin Exp Neurol 1986; 22:1-12.
  5. Oh SJ, Cho HK. Edrophonium responsiveness not necessarily diagnostic of myasthenia gravis. Muscle Nerve 1990; 13:187-191.
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