Incidence of extensor carpi ulnaris pathology in patients with triangular fibrocartilage complex foveal repairs

We analysed the association between extensor carpi ulnaris pathology and triangular fibrocartilage complex foveal tears. In total, 178 patients (58 patients and 120 controls) were retrospectively recruited. The patient group comprised individuals with foveal tears. Extensor carpi ulnaris pathology was defined as the presence of tenosynovitis, tendinosis and high-grade tendon subluxation in magnetic resonance images. Tenosynovitis and a high grade of subluxation were more prevalent in patients than in controls (43 vs. 23% and 26 vs. 14%, respectively) whereas the incidence of tendinosis did not significantly differ. In a multivariate regression model, only tenosynovitis was associated with foveal tears (odds ratio 2.56; 95% CI 1.29 to 5.08; p = 0.007). Overall, the prevalence of tenosynovitis was higher in the patient group than that in the control group. Extesnor carpi ulnaris tenosynovitis detected on magnetic resonance images is highly associated with triangular fibrocartilage complex foveal tears.Level of evidence: III.