Gruber H, Peer S, Gruber L, Loescher W, Bauer T, Loizides A
Department of Radiology, Medical University Innsbruck.
Radiology, CTI GesmbH and Roentgeninstitut B7, Innsbruck.
Ultraschall Med. 2014 Aug;35(4):332-8. doi: 10.1055/s-0034-1366089. Epub 2014 Mar 19.
The axillary nerve (AN) is frequently injured during shoulder trauma and imaging is required to define the site and extent of nerve injury. However, the AN has a rather complex course through several soft tissue compartments of the shoulder and axilla. Therefore, imaging of the nerve with MRI and sonography is troublesome. Thus detection and sonographic assessment bases on thorough knowledge of local topography.
This investigation aimed at defining reliable anatomical landmarks for AN-sonography in 5 volunteers and later validating the proposed sonographic examination protocol in 10 unselected patients.
With strict adherence to the proposed examination algorithm, sonography of the AN was feasible in all volunteers and patients. Furthermore, sonographic findings correlated nicely with the golden standard "surgical exploration" concerning severity and topography of neural impairment.
Based on our study results we propose our algorithm for AN-sonography as the first-line imaging tool for the assessment of axillary nerve trauma.
腋神经（AN）在肩部创伤时经常受损，需要影像学检查来确定神经损伤的部位和程度。然而，腋神经在肩部和腋窝的多个软组织间隙中走行相当复杂。因此，用MRI和超声对该神经进行成像很麻烦。所以，基于对局部解剖结构的透彻了解进行神经的检测和超声评估。
本研究旨在为5名志愿者确定可靠的腋神经超声解剖标志，随后在10名未经挑选的患者中验证所提出的超声检查方案。
严格遵循所提出的检查算法，腋神经超声检查在所有志愿者和患者中均可行。此外，在神经损伤的严重程度和部位方面，超声检查结果与“手术探查”这一黄金标准高度相关。
基于我们的研究结果，我们提出腋神经超声检查算法，作为评估腋神经创伤的一线成像工具。
