Article

OBJECTIVE: (1) To determine whether a 5-cm segment includes the entire anatomic
carpal tunnel in live subjects, and to compare surface, ultrasonographic, and
direct measures of the median nerve length in human cadavers. (2) To investigate
the actual difference of sensory conduction velocities between the conventional
tape method and the ultrasonographic method. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study.
SETTING: University rehabilitation hospital. PARTICIPANTS: Healthy volunteers
(N=40; 20 men, 20 women). INTERVENTIONS: Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES:
Onset latencies at the palm and wrist, nerve conduction velocity (NCV) in nerve
conduction study (NCS), median nerve length measured by ultrasound and tape
method. RESULTS: A real-time ultrasonographic study revealed that a 5-cm segment
included the entire carpal tunnel. In the cadaveric study, the median nerve
length measured by ultrasound was closer to the actual nerve length than the
conventional surface length. The median nerve length in the wrist-to-palm segment
measured by ultrasound was shorter than the surface distance. The sensory NCV
using the nerve length measured by ultrasound was slower than that using the
surface distance (P<.05). CONCLUSIONS: The 5-cm segment test included the entire
carpal tunnel and might be advantageous in the diagnosis of carpal tunnel
syndrome (CTS), especially for early lesions. We expect that ultrasonographic
measurement of nerve length might raise the sensitivity of NCSs for the diagnosis
of CTS.
CI - Copyright (c) 2011 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by
Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Langue : ANGLAIS