title: A systematic review of diagnostic performance of quantitative tests to assess musculoskeletal disorders in hand-arm vibration syndrome.
abstract: The purpose was to systematically review the published reports for the clinical utility of quantitative objective tests commonly used for diagnosing musculoskeletal disorders in hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS). Two reviewers independently conducted a computerized literature search in PubMed and Scopus using predefined criteria, and relevant papers were identified. The articles were screened in several stages and considered for final inclusion. Quality of the selected papers was evaluated by a modified QUADAS tool. Relevant data were extracted as necessary. For this review, only 4 relevant studies could be identified for detailed examination. Grip strength, pinch strength, and Purdue pegboard tests were commonly used with their reported sensitivity and specificity ranging between 1.7 to 65.7% and 65.2 to 100%, 1.7 to 40% and 94 to 100%, and 44.8 to 85% and 78 to 95%, respectively. A considerable difference across the studies was observed with respect to patient and control populations, diagnostic performance and cut-off values of different tests. Overall, currently available English-language limited literature do not provide enough evidence in favour of the application of grip strength and pinch strength tests for diagnosing musculoskeletal injuries in HAVS; Purdue pegboard test seems to have some diagnostic value in evaluating impaired dexterity in HAVS.
authors.affiliation: Department of Hygiene, Yamaguchi University Graduate School of Medicine, Japan.
authors.forename: M H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Mahbub
authors.forename: Youichi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kurozawa
authors.forename: Tatsuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ishitake
authors.forename: Yukinori
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kume
authors.forename: Kazuhisa
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Miyashita
authors.forename: Hisataka
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sakakibara
authors.forename: Shuji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sato
authors.forename: Norikuni
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Toibana
authors.forename: Noriaki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Harada
mesh_terms: D019937:Diagnostic Techniques and Procedures; D018737:Hand Strength; D053421:Hand-Arm Vibration Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D009048:Motor Skills; D009140:Musculoskeletal Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D052581:Pinch Strength; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity