A study by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh has suggested that ultrasound can accurately confirm the diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS).
The study, published in the September issue of The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery, compared the effectiveness, particularly the sensitivity and specificity of ultrasound and electro diagnostic testing for diagnosing CTS. A total of 85 patients were assessed a CTS-6 clinical diagnostic tool, used as the reference standard.
The researchers, led by John R. Fowler, discovered that ultrasound had 89% sensitivity and 90% specificity, whilst electro diagnostic testing also had 89% sensitivity and 80% specificity. They found that the ultrasound had a positive predictive value of 94% compared to 89% for electro diagnostic testing. The negative predictive values found were 82% for ultrasound and 80% for electro diagnostic testing. Whilst electro diagnosis was accurate in 86% of cases, ultrasound was accurate in 89% of cases. This goes some way to suggest that ultrasound is an effective means of diagnosing CTS.
The study’s authors said of the results: “While ultrasound will not replace electro diagnostic testing in complicated or unclear cases, in a select group of patients with a positive CTS-6, ultrasound can be used to confirm the diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome with better specificity and equal sensitivity as compared with those of electro diagnostic testing.”
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