title: The use of ultrasound in the diagnosis of injuries of the ulnar collateral ligament of the thumb.
abstract: We describe the use of a specialist referral clinic and ultrasound assessment for all injuries to the ulnar collateral ligament of the metacarpophalangeal joint of the thumb presenting to an Accident and Emergency (A&E) department. Senior House Officers in the A&E department were able to correctly diagnose only 45% of the ruptures of the ulnar collateral ligament. The overall agreement between specialist clinic examination and ultrasound for injury to the ulnar collateral ligament was 85% (kappa 0.647). When compared with the operative finding ultrasound had a positive predictive value for rupture of 94%. An algorithm is presented for the assessment of injuries to the ulnar collateral ligament in A&E departments.
authors.affiliation: Department of Accident and Emergency, Sunderland Royal Hospital, UK.
authors.forename: M H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: S J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: England
authors.forename: C L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Muwanga
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hildreth
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000465:Algorithms; D002648:Child; D017885:Collateral Ligaments / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000293:injuries*; D005260:Female; D006767:Hospitals, District; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008662:Metacarpophalangeal Joint / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000293:injuries*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D012421:Rupture; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014457:Ulna; D014463:Ultrasonography