de Quervain's Tenosynovitis and Radial Styloid Osseous Changes

This study aimed to determine the radial styloid osseous changes observed on posteroanterior wrist radiographs of patients with de Quervain's tenosynovitis who required surgery or conservative treatment.

The surgically treated group included 24 patients with de Quervain's tenosynovitis. The conservative treatment group and the healthy control group each comprised 24 age- and sex-matched subjects. We evaluated the presence of bone apposition, periosteal reaction, sclerosis, osteopenia, erosion, and contour bulge in the epiphyseal remnant at the radial styloid. The incidences of abnormal radiographic findings were compared between these three groups. The correlation of radial styloid bony changes with the duration of symptoms was also analyzed.

No significant differences were found between the three groups in terms of periosteal reaction, erosion, and contour bulge at the epiphysial remnant. Significant differences were found between the three groups in the incidence of bone apposition, sclerosis, and osteopenia (p < 0.001). Bone apposition incidence in the surgically and conservatively treated groups was significantly higher than that in the control group (p < 0.001). Sclerosis and osteopenia significantly differed between the surgically and conservatively treated groups (p < 0.001, p = 0.002, respectively). No significant association was observed between the duration of symptoms and the radial styloid osseous changes (p > 0.05).

We found a variable incidence of abnormal radiographic findings on the radial styloid in patients with de Quervain's tenosynovitis and asymptomatic individuals. The presence of sclerosis and osteopenia may be potential risk factors for patients who do not respond to conservative treatment and need surgical intervention.