Median Nerve Shear Wave Elastography Is Associated With the Neurophysiological Severity of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

This study examines the associations between the median nerve (MN) shear wave elastography (SWE), the MN cross-sectional area (CSA), patient's symptoms, and the neurophysiological severity of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). The most appropriate site to perform SWE was also tested.

This prospective study comprised 86 wrists of 47 consecutive patients who volunteered for MN ultrasound after an electrodiagnostic study. The neurophysiological severity of CTS was assessed according to the results of a nerve conduction study (NCS). The MN CSA was measured at the carpal tunnel inlet (wCSA) and the forearm (fCSA). SWE was performed on the MN in a longitudinal orientation at the wrist crease (wSWE), at the forearm (fSWE), and within the carpal tunnel (tSWE).

The wCSA and wSWE correlated positively with the neurophysiological severity of CTS (r = .619, P < .001; r = .582, P < .001, respectively). The optimal cut-off values to discriminate the groups with normal NCS and with findings indicating CTS were 10.5 mm² for the wCSA and 4.12 m/s for the wSWE. With these cut-off values, wCSA had a sensitivity of 80% and specificity of 87% and wSWE a sensitivity of 88% and specificity of 76%. Neither tSWE nor fSWE correlated with the neurophysiological severity of CTS or differed between NCS negative and positive groups (P = .429, P = .736, respectively).

Shear wave velocity in the MN at the carpal tunnel inlet increases in CTS and correlates to the neurophysiological CTS severity equivalently to CSA measured at the same site.