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Speckle tracking ultrasound for assessment of the relative motion of flexor tendon and subsynovial connective tissue in the human carpal tunnel.

ABSTRACT: The objective of this study was to compare tissue Doppler imaging and speckle tracking ultrasound to assess the relative motion of flexor tendon and surrounding subsynovial connective tissue (SSCT). Twenty normal human wrists were imaged with an ultrasound scanner. The two ultrasound methods measured the excursion and maximum velocity of the tendon and SSCT while subjects gripped three different sized acrylic tubes and these were correlated with tendon excursions estimated from finger joint angle changes. The maximum velocity ratio (=SSCT/tendon velocity) and the shear index (=[(Tendon excursion-SSCT excursion)/Tendon excursion]x100%) were calculated. The intraclass correlation coefficient was higher for joint angle/speckle tracking tendon excursion (0.642) than for joint angle/tissue Doppler excursion (0.377). The speckle tracking method could also discriminate differences in maximum velocity ratio and shear index for different tube sizes. We conclude that speckle tracking may be useful in assessing the relative motion of tendon and SSCT.

SUBMITTER: Yoshii Y

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2789985 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Speckle tracking ultrasound for assessment of the relative motion of flexor tendon and subsynovial connective tissue in the human carpal tunnel.

Yoshii Yuichi Y Villarraga Hector R HR Henderson Jacqueline J Zhao Chunfeng C An Kai-Nan KN Amadio Peter C PC

Ultrasound in medicine & biology 20091013 12

The objective of this study was to compare tissue Doppler imaging and speckle tracking ultrasound to assess the relative motion of flexor tendon and surrounding subsynovial connective tissue (SSCT). Twenty normal human wrists were imaged with an ultrasound scanner. The two ultrasound methods measured the excursion and maximum velocity of the tendon and SSCT while subjects gripped three different sized acrylic tubes and these were correlated with tendon excursions estimated from finger joint angl ...[more]

PMID: 19828231

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Project description:BackgroundReduced gliding ability of the median nerve in the carpal tunnel has been observed in patients with carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the gliding abilities of the median nerve and flexor tendon in patients with CTS and healthy participants in the neutral and 30° extended positions of the wrist and to compare the gliding between the finger flexion and extension phases.MethodsPatients with CTS and healthy participants were consecutively recruited in a community hospital. All the subjects received the Boston CTS questionnaire, physical examinations, nerve conduction study (NCS), and ultrasonography of the upper extremities. Duplex Doppler ultrasonography was performed to evaluate the gliding abilities of the median nerve and flexor tendon when the subjects continuously moved their index finger in the neutral and 30° extension positions of the wrist.ResultsForty-nine patients with CTS and 48 healthy volunteers were consecutively recruited. Significant differences in the Boston CTS questionnaire, physical examination and NCS results and the cross-sectional area of the median nerve were found between the patients and the healthy controls. The degree of median nerve gliding and the ratio of median nerve excursion to flexor tendon excursion in the CTS group were significantly lower than those in the healthy control group in both the neutral and 30° wrist extension positions. Significantly increased excursion of both the median nerve and flexor tendon from the neutral to the extended positions were found in the CTS group. The ratio of median nerve excursion to flexor tendon excursion was significantly higher in the finger flexion phase than in the extended phase in both groups, and this ratio had mild to moderate correlations with answers on the Boston CTS Questionnaire and with the NCS results.ConclusionsReduced excursion of the median nerve was found in the patients with CTS. The ratio of median nerve excursion to flexor tendon excursion was significantly lower in the patients with CTS than in the healthy volunteers. The median nerve excursion was increased while the wrist joint was extended to 30° in the patients with CTS. Wrist extension may be applied as part of the gliding exercise regimen for patients with CTS to improve median nerve mobilization.

Project description:BackgroundCarpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is by far the most common entrapment neuropathy (Adams et al. Am J Ind Med 25:527-536, 1994; Cheadle et al. Am J Public Health 84:190-196, 1994; Stevens et al. Neurology 38:134-138, 1988). A combination of described symptoms, clinical findings and electrophysiological testing is used to confirm the diagnosis. Several studies have suggested that in patients with a clinical diagnosis of CTS, the accuracy of nerve sonography is similar to that for electromyography (Chen et al. BMC Med Imaging 11:22, 2011; Guan et al. Neurol Res 33:970-953, 2011; Kele et al. Neurology 61:389-391, 2003; Tai et al. Ultrasound Med Biol 38:1121-1128, 2012). In special cases though, the nerve sonography can reveal the cause of the median entrapment neuropathy (Fumière et al. JBR-BTR 85:1-3, 2002; Kele et al. J Neurosurg 97:471-473, 2002; Kele et al. Neurology 61:389-391, 2003; Zamora et al. J Clin Ultrasound 39:44-47, 2011).MethodsA 43-year-old farmer was admitted to our department with 1 year of intermittent pain in the left hand and numbness of the thumb, index and middle finger. The pain and the numbness could be reproduced by extension of the wrist and fingers. The electrophysiological testing revealed signs of an entrapment median neuropathy in carpal tunnel.ResultsThe high-resolution sonography (18 MHz) revealed signs of entrapment neuropathy with increased cross-sectional area, disturbed echostructure of the nerve and pathological wrist-to-forearm ratio, confirming the results from a similar study (Kele et al. Neurology 61:389-391, 2003). In addition, an elongated muscle belly of the flexor digitorum superficialis in the carpal tunnel could be identified. During the extension of the wrist and fingers, a greater protrusion of the muscle belly could be demonstrated causing compression of the median nerve.ConclusionsWe present a video case report of the sonographic findings of a patient diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome due to an elongated muscle belly of the flexor digitorum superficialis in the carpal tunnel. Our case highlights the importance of nerve sonography in the differential diagnosis of the cause of a carpal tunnel syndrome. With the aid of ultrasonography, it is possible to obtain very important information concerning different aspects of this case. First, in showing the presence of the elongated muscle belly of the flexor digitorum superficialis, the cause of the symptoms could be explained. Second, it was possible through the ultrasound study to explain the atypical clinical appearance in this case, demonstrating the compression neuropathy only after extension of the wrist and fingers. There have been no previous reports in which authors described an elongated muscle belly as cause of a CTS. Third, and perhaps most important, ultrasonography had a direct influence on our selection of therapeutical strategy and approach. As a result, we recommended in this patient a surgical therapy to completely solve the problem, but the patient declined this option and preferred a conservative therapy with a hand orthosis to prevent wrist extension. In conclusion we recommend ultrasonography as a very useful method in the diagnostic evaluation of carpal tunnel syndrome. We have clearly demonstrated that ultrasonography can be used to discover the cause of median nerve compression, especially in cases with an atypical clinical presentation.

Dataset Information

Speckle tracking ultrasound for assessment of the relative motion of flexor tendon and subsynovial connective tissue in the human carpal tunnel.

Publications

Speckle tracking ultrasound for assessment of the relative motion of flexor tendon and subsynovial connective tissue in the human carpal tunnel.

Similar Datasets

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