The role of preoperative ultrasound in the management of peripheral nerve injuries.
Ultrasound identified entrapment neuropathy in half of preoperative nerve injury patients
The role of preoperative ultrasound in the management of peripheral nerve injuries.
Peripheral nerve injury refers to any damage or trauma to the nerves located outside the central nervous system.
To assess the power of ultrasound in determining the presence, localization, and extent of neural damage in patients with clinical evidence of peripheral nerve lesions before surgery.
This cross-sectional study was conducted on 78 patients (56 females and 22 males, aged from 9 to 52 years) who had different pathologies including entrapment, tumoral, post-traumatic, and post-surgical nerve injuries at the Neurosurgery and Physical Medicine, Rheumatology, and Rehabilitation Departments, Tanta University Hospitals.
Ultrasound complemented the electrodiagnostic studies by determining the site of entrapment manifested by increased mean maximum cross-sectional area of the nerve proximal to the site of entrapment and nerve hypoechogenicity.
In post-traumatic and iatrogenic neuropathies (35 patients) (44.9%), the ultrasound finding revealed neuroma in continuity in nine cases (11.5%), complete neurotmesis with stump neuroma in eighteen patients (23.1%), and eight cases (10.3%) showed perineural adhesion.
In all cases, the nerve was hypoechoic at the site of injury.
Ultrasonography is a diagnostic and surgical planning tool that is becoming more and more useful for the management of peripheral nerve injuries.
Its high resolution and real-time capability provide safe and cost-effective scans that aid in determining the extent of injuries.
For patients with peripheral nerve injuries, ultrasound is advised to be added to the routine clinical and neurophysiological evaluation.
It is also advised to use ultrasound as a first-line imaging modality for tumors thought to be of nerve origin.