title: Diagnosis of thoracic outlet syndrome by magnetic stimulation of the brachial plexus.
abstract: The abductor pollicis brevis (APB) and abductor digiti minimi (ADM) compound muscle action potential (CMAP) latencies, and median and ulnar motor conduction velocities (MCVs), obtained by magnetic stimulation of the brachial plexus, were evaluated for the diagnosis of thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS). These measurements were compared in three groups of limbs: (1) the symptomatic limbs of patients with TOS (symptomatic group), (2) the asymptomatic con-tralateral limbs of these patients (asymptomatic group), and (3) the limbs of healthy control subjects (control group). Although no significant differences were observed in MCVs among the three groups, the APB CMAP latency in the sym-ptomatic group (12.0 +/- 1.2 ms) was significantly prolonged compared with that in the control group (10.4 +/- 0.64 ms; P < 0.01), and the ADM CMAP latency in the symptomatic group (11.0 +/- 0.82 ms) was also significantly prolonged compared with that in the control group (10.1 +/- 0.59 ms; P < 0.01). The possibility is suggested that the evaluation of APB and ADM CMAP latencies by magnetic stimulation of the brachial plexus may be helpful for the diagnosis of TOS.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Shinshu University School of Medicine, 3-1-1 Asahi, Matsumoto, Nagano 390-0802, Japan.
authors.forename: Tomoko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Misawa
authors.forename: Yoshifumi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kiyono
authors.forename: Yukio
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nakatsuchi
authors.forename: Masaomi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shindo
authors.forename: Kunio
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Takaoka
mesh_terms: D000200:Action Potentials; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001917:Brachial Plexus / Q000503:physiopathology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008280:Magnetics; D008297:Male; D008475:Median Nerve / Q000503:physiopathology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009431:Neural Conduction; D011930:Reaction Time; D013901:Thoracic Outlet Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D014459:Ulnar Nerve / Q000503:physiopathology