title: [Diagnosis of patients with thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS) using physiological measures of the medial antebrachial cutaneous nerve].
abstract: The diagnosis of thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS) remains difficult; therefore, reliable and objective tests are required. We examined the process to diagnose TOS, and assessed the validity of measuring the medial antebrachial cutaneous nerve (MAC), also the ulnar nerve (UN) as a diagnostic tool. Between 2008 and 2011, 86 sides in 73 patients admitted to our hospital for the treatment of TOS were analyzed. In the process for the diagnosis as TOS, the narrow parts of the subclavian artery that was compressed by the anterior scalene muscle were confirmed with a three-dimensional CT angiography. All patients were taken a brachial plexus anesthesiological block to aim at both for diagnosis and treatment of TOS. For the diagnosis of TOS, measurements of latency (LT) and sensory nerve action potential (SNAP) of MAC and UN were analyzed between the TOS side and the non-TOS side and separated into traumatic type or disputed type. In our research, the LT of MAC and UN did not differ much between the TOS side and the non-TOS side; however, the amplitude of SNAP of MAC and UN were lower on the TOS side, especially in traumatic TOS. We concluded that comparison of the amplitude of SNAP of MAC on the injured or non-injured side was comparatively helpful for the diagnosis of TOS.
authors: Department of Neurosurgery, Atsugi City Hospital, 1-16-36 Mizuhiki Atsugi-city, Kanagawa 243-8588, Japan.
authors: Tohru
authors: T
authors: Terao
authors: Takuya
authors: T
authors: Ishii
authors: Daichi
authors: D
authors: Kawamura
authors: Sou
authors: S
authors: Ohashi
authors: Emiko
authors: E
authors: Saito
authors: Toshiaki
authors: T
authors: Abe
authors: Satoshi
authors: S
authors: Tani
authors: Koichi
authors: K
authors: Takahashi
mesh_terms: D000200:Action Potentials / Q000502:physiology; D001917:Brachial Plexus / Q000473:pathology*; D055724:Electrophysiological Phenomena; D005071:Evoked Potentials / Q000502:physiology; D005542:Forearm / Q000294:innervation; D006801:Humans; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D009138:Musculocutaneous Nerve / Q000502:physiology; D009431:Neural Conduction / Q000502:physiology; D013901:Thoracic Outlet Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D014459:Ulnar Nerve / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery