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DOI: 10.1055/s-0043-1768697
History and national survey on reflex hammers: which is the chosen one of Brazilian neurologists?
História e questionário nacional sobre martelos de reflexo: qual é o escolhido dos neurologistas brasileiros?
Abstract
Background Percussion is an important part of the neurological examination and reflex hammers are necessary to obtain it properly.
Objective We aimed to review the historical aspects of the main reflex hammers and to define the favorite one of Brazilian neurologists.
Methods We searched original and review articles about historical aspects of the reflex hammers in Scielo and Pubmed and conducted an online survey to investigate the favorite reflex hammer of Brazilian neurologists.
Results In the first part, we describe the major milestones in the creation of the reflex hammers. Following, we exhibit the results of the online survey: Babinski-Rabiner was the most voted.
Conclusions The origins of the reflex hammers goes back long before their creation, from a basic clinical examination method: percussion. Since the description of deep tendon reflexes and the creation of percussion hammers, much has been improved in this technique. Among all the hammers surveyed, the Babinski-Rabiner was the chosen one by a significant portion of Brazilian neurologists.
Resumo
Antecedentes A percussão é uma parte importante do exame neurológico e os martelos de reflexo são necessários para obtê-la adequadamente.
Objetivo Nós visamos revisar os aspectos históricos dos principais martelos de reflexo neurológico e definir qual é o preferido dos neurologistas brasileiros.
Métodos Procuramos artigos originais e artigos de revisão sobre os aspectos históricos dos martelos de reflexo na Scielo e no Pubmed, e conduzimos um questionário online para investigar qual é o preferido dos neurologistas brasileiros.
Resultados Na primeira parte, descrevemos os principais marcos na criação dos martelos de reflexo. Na sequência, expomos os resultados do questionário online: Babinski-Rabiner foi o martelo mais votado.
Conclusões A origem dos martelos de reflexos vem muito antes de sua criação, a partir de um método de exame clínico básico: a percussão. Desde a descrição dos reflexos tendinosos profundos e da criação de martelos de percussão, muito se aperfeiçoou sobre essa técnica. Dentre todos os martelos pesquisados, o de Babinski-Rabiner foi o escolhido por uma parcela significativa dos neurologistas brasileiros.
Authors' Contributions
All authors contributed equally for the design of this manuscript.
Publication History
Received: 11 October 2022
Accepted: 12 December 2022
Article published online:
09 May 2023
© 2023. Academia Brasileira de Neurologia. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
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