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Published on: January 3, 2011
High-Resolution Ultrasonography for Detecting Peripheral Neuropathy in Leprosy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Sara Ahmed Metwally1, Shahd Al Haj Ali1, Mostafa Tantawy2
1Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt.
Background:
Leprosy is a chronic granulomatous disease that commonly affects the peripheral nervous system, often leading to significant disability. High-resolution ultrasonography has emerged as a promising tool for the noninvasive assessment of nerve involvement in leprosy.
Objective:
To figure out the diagnostic value of HRUS in assessing peripheral nerve involvement in leprosy, with a focus on measuring the cross-sectional area (CSA) of major nerves.
Methods:
A systematic search of PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Embase was conducted up to 2024. Seventeen studies were included, and quality assessment was performed using NIH and NOS tools. Meta-analyses compared CSA of the ulnar, median, posterior tibial, and common fibular nerves between patients with leprosy and healthy controls. Heterogeneity was evaluated using the I2 statistic and sensitivity analyses were performed.
Results:
Patients with leprosy showed significantly increased CSA in all examined nerves compared with controls. Single-arm analysis of CSA in patients with leprosy showed consistent nerve enlargement, particularly in the ulnar nerve.
Conclusions:
Our review shows the usefulness of HRUS as a sensitive, noninvasive imaging modality for evaluating peripheral nerve involvement in leprosy.
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