Neurology & Pain Management Coding Alert

You needn’t pay attention to the number of doses or time spent for the testing. Testing for muscle strength in myasthenia gravis may test your patience, but a single code might be all you need. Scenario: Your neurologist may conduct an Edrophonium test when other diagnostic testing has been inconclusive in detecting if the patient has myasthenia gravis. "Your neurologist may also refer to this as a Tensilon or cholinesterase inhibitor challenge test," says Marvel Hammer, RN, CPC, CCS-P, PCS, ACS-PM, CHCO, owner of MJH Consulting in Denver, CO. "The diagnostic test can also be used to differentiate myasthenia gravis from cholinergic crisis and Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome." Testing components: The testing consists of intravenous administration of the drug with monitoring for any improvement in muscle strength. Typically, an initial test dose of 2 mg is given to watch for the possibility of an exaggerated response, such as heart rate abnormalities [...]