RELIABILITY OF SONOGRAPHIC MUSCLE THICKNESS MEASUREMENTS OF THE THENAR AND HYPOTHENAR MUSCLES

Introduction This study was undertaken to assess the intra-and interrater reliability of sonographic thickness measurements of the thenar and hypothenar muscles. Methods: The thickness of the thenar and hypothenar muscles of both hands of 15 volunteers (7 male, 8 female) were evaluated with a 4-13-MHZ linear probe by 2 examiners who were blinded to each other's measurements. Interrater reliability was then evaluated. To assess intrarater reliability, the first examiner also performed a second measurement after an interval of at least 1 day. Results: Mean age of the subjects was 31.169.0 years. Test-retest reliability showed excellent intrarater reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient range: 0.889-0.963) and substantial to excellent results for interrater reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient range: 0.692-0.937). Discussion: We found that ultrasound is a reliable method for thickness measurements of the thenar and hypothenar muscles

Short Segment Conduction Study and Localization Features in Ulnar Neuropathy at the Elbow: A Retrospective Study of 57 Patients

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the localization properties in electrodiagnostically evaluated patients with a prediagnosis of ulnar neuropathy at the elbow

Recovery features in ulnar neuropathy at the elbow

[Purpose] This study evaluated the effect of age, sex, and entrapment localization on recovery time in patients treated conservatively for ulnar neuropathy at the elbow. [Subjects] Thirty-five patients (16 women and 15 men) who were diagnosed with ulnar neuropathy at the elbow using short segment conduction studies were evaluated retrospectively. [Methods] Definition of recovey was made based on patient satisfaction. The absence of symptoms was considered as the marker of recovery. Patients who recovered within 0-4 weeks were in Group 1, and patients who recovered within 4 weeks to 6 months were in Group 2. The differences between Group 1 and Group 2 in terms of age, sex and entrapment localization were investigated. [Results] Entrapment was most frequent in the retroepicondylar groove (54.3%). No significant difference was found in terms of age and entrapment localizations between Groups 1 and 2. There was a statistically significant difference between the groups for the male sex. [Conclusion] In ulnar neuropathy at the elbow, age and entrapment localization do not affect recovery time. However, male sex appears to be associated with longer recovery time