Ultrasound for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Screening in Manual Laborers
- UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
- Mark R. Schulz, Assistant Professor (Creator)
- Institution
- The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
- Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
Abstract: Introduction:
Manual laborers are at increased risk for carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), and a combination of history, physical examination, and nerve conduction studies is often used to screen for CTS in this population. Neuromuscular ultrasound may be a better screening tool, because it is painless. In this study we compare the accuracy of nerve conduction studies and ultrasound for CTS screening.
Methods:
Five hundred thirteen manual laborers were screened prospectively for CTS using nerve conduction studies and neuromuscular ultrasound, and the accuracy of the 2 techniques was compared using the Katz hand diagram as the diagnostic standard.
Results:
The ROC curves for the 2 techniques were not significantly different (P = 0.542), indicating that the approaches had similar diagnostic accuracy.
Conclusions:
Neuromuscular ultrasound is a painless technique that has diagnostic accuracy similar to nerve conduction studies and can be used to screen large populations at risk for CTS.
Abbreviations
CTS: carpal tunnel syndrome
ROC: receiver operating characteristic
Ultrasound for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Screening in Manual Laborers
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Additional Information
- Publication
- Muscle & Nerve, 48(1), 127-131
- Language: English
- Date: 2012
- Keywords
- accuracy, carpal tunnel syndrome, clinical neurophysiology, screening test, ultrasound