A DIAGNOSTIC TEST FOR CARPAL TUNNEL SYNDROME USING ULTRASOUND

The paper describes the details of an ultrasound test for carpal tunnel syndrome and compares the results of this with E.M.G. studies in a series of 19 patients. The equipment used was a standard therapeutic ultrasound unit and the tests were performed by a physiotherapist. The results were encouraging, with a 90 % correlation with E.M.G. results. Carpal tunnel syndrome is usually diagnosed clinically and, if necessary, confirmed by electromyographic studies. However the latter test is time-consuming and may be unpleasant for the patient. It was therefore postulated that ultrasound could be used to reproduce symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome by irritating the compressed median nerve in the carpal tunnel. Patients and Methods Patients selected had been referred for E.M.G. studies for the diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome. The results were reported as: