title: The potential value of ultrasonography in the evaluation of carpal tunnel syndrome.
abstract: The authors compared ultrasonography with electrophysiology for the diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) on 110 clinically affected wrists. An increased cross sectional area in the proximal carpal tunnel larger than 0.11 cm(2) in combination with compression signs on longitudinal scans proved to be highly predictive for CTS (sensitivity, 89.1%; specificity, 98.0%). Ultrasound was comparable to electrophysiology in the diagnosis of CTS, and in 35% of cases changes in morphology suggested a specific therapeutic strategy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, University of Göttingen, Germany. hkele@gwdg.de
authors.forename: Henrich
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kele
authors.forename: Raphaela
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Verheggen
authors.forename: Hans-Joachim
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Bittermann
authors.forename: Carl Detlev
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Reimers
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002349:Carpal Tunnel Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000503:physiopathology; D004568:Electrodiagnosis; D004594:Electrophysiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008475:Median Nerve / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012016:Reference Values; D014463:Ultrasonography; D014953:Wrist / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging