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Published on: January 11, 2019
High-resolution ultrasound in ulnar neuropathy at the elbow: A prospective study
Hanne R Ellegaard1, Anders Fuglsang-Frederiksen1, Alexander Hess1
1Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Aarhus University Hospital, Noerrebrogade 44, Building 10, Parterre, 8000, Aarhus C, Denmark.
Introduction:
We examined the role of ultrasound in diagnosing and localizing ulnar neuropathy (UN) at the elbow.
Methods:
Forty-one patients referred for UN and 43 healthy subjects were included. Cross-sectional area (CSA) of the ulnar nerve was measured by ultrasound at 5 locations across the elbow and at the wrist. Patients underwent near-nerve conduction studies (N-NCS).
Results:
Ultrasound (US) had a sensitivity of 80.5%, N-NCS had a sensitivity of 70.7%, and combined sensitivity was 85.4% in diagnosing UN. Using N-NCS as a reference standard, US reached a sensitivity of 93.1% and a specificity of 50.0% in diagnosing UN, and a sensitivity of 77.3% and a specificity of 42.9% in localizing UN at the elbow. There was a reduction in mean CSA at 3-month follow-up.
Conclusions:
N-NCS and US are complementary methods and have the potential to increase the sensitivity for diagnosing and localizing UN at the elbow.
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