High-resolution ultrasonography of the carpal tunnel.
Twenty-eight wrists of 25 patients with carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) and 28 wrists of 14 normal control subjects were studied with high-frequency real-time ultrasonography. Three general findings could be observed in CTS, regardless of its cause: swelling of the median nerve at the entrance of the carpal tunnel; flattening of the median nerve in the distal carpal tunnel; and increased palmar flexion of the transverse carpal ligament. Quantitative analysis proved these findings to be significant. We conclude that high-resolution sonography is able to diagnose median nerve compression in the carpal tunnel syndrome and to detect some of its potential causes.
Department of Radiology, University of Innsbruck, Austria.
W
W
Buchberger
G
G
Schön
K
K
Strasser
W
W
Jungwirth
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002348:Carpal Bones / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D002349:Carpal Tunnel Syndrome / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008475:Median Nerve / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D008875:Middle Aged; D009132:Muscles / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D012016:Reference Values; D013710:Tendons / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D014463:Ultrasonography; D014955:Wrist Joint / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*