Association between electrodiagnosis and neuromuscular ultrasound in the diagnosis and assessment of severity of carpal tunnel syndrome.

BACKGROUND

Neuromuscular ultrasound plays an increasing role in diagnosing carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). There are limited data supporting the correlation between the electrodiagnostic studies and ultrasound measurements in CTS.

OBJECTIVE

To assess the association between different electrodiagnostic severities and ultrasound measurements of the median nerve in CTS.

DESIGN

A retrospective cohort study.

SETTING

An academic tertiary care center.

PATIENTS

Patients 18 years or older evaluated with upper limb electrodiagnostic studies and neuromuscular ultrasound.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASUREMENT

Ultrasound measurements of the median nerve cross-sectional area (CSA) at the wrist and the calculated wrist-to-forearm ratio (WFR) were compared with the electrodiagnostic severity (normal, mild, moderate, and severe). Mean analysis and analysis of variance test (α = 0.05) were performed to assess the association.

RESULTS

A total of 1359 limbs were identified. There was a statistically significant association between electrodiagnostic severity of CTS and median nerve CSA at the wrist (p < .001), as well as the WFR (p < .001). The mean median nerve CSA at the wrist and WFR were 7.01 ± 2.06 mm (95% CI: 6.80-7.20) and 1.24 ± 0.36 (95% CI: 1.16-1.24) in electrodiagnostically normal median nerves, 10.47 ± 2.82 mm (95% CI: 10.25-10.75) and 2.06 ± 0.67 (95% CI: 2.04-2.16) in electrodiagnostically mild CTS, 12.95 ± 4.74 mm (95% CI: 12.41-13.59) and 2.49 ± 1.04 (95% CI: 2.37, 2.63) in electrodiagnostically moderate CTS, and 14.69 ± 5.38 mm (95% CI: 13.95-15.44) and 2.71 ± 1.02 (95% CI: 2.56-2.84) in electrodiagnostically severe CTS, respectively.

CONCLUSION

This study suggests a direct association between electrodiagnostic severity and ultrasound measurements of the median nerve in patients with suspected CTS.