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Ulnar Neuropathy (ulnar + neuropathy)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Medical Sciences	100%

Selected Abstracts

Ulnar neuropathy at the elbow due to unusual sleep position

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROLOGY, Issue 1 2000
J. Finsterer
Abnormal strain of the ulnar nerve over the sulcus due to an unusual sleep position is a rare cause of ulnar neuropathy at the elbow. A 57-year-old patient with Mandelung's deformity developed progressive weakness in the flexion of fingers 4 and 5 and in finger straddling on the left side. Additionally, there was slight wasting of the left hypothenar and the left interossei muscles. Motor and sensory nerve conduction studies of the left ulnar nerve showed delayed conduction velocities over the left ulnar sulcus. He preferred to sleep in a left lateral position with his head lying on a headrest roll, his left forearm being flexed at 110° and his hand lying either under his cheek or placed on the roll. Only three weeks after the patient had been advised to change his sleep position and to sleep without the headrest roll, weakness markedly improved. This case shows that sleeping in a lateral position with the head on a headrest roll and the hand placed on the roll or under the cheek may cause ulnar neuropathy at the elbow. Change of such a habitual sleep position promptly resolves the symptoms. [source]

Ultrasonography in patients with ulnar neuropathy at the elbow: Comparison of cross-sectional area and swelling ratio with electrophysiological severity

MUSCLE AND NERVE, Issue 5 2010
Ayse Oytun Bayrak MD
Abstract The aim of this study was to determine the diagnostic value of ultrasonographic measurements in ulnar neuropathy at the elbow (UNE) and to assess the relationship between the measurements and the electrophysiological severity. The largest anteroposterior diameter (LAPD) and cross-sectional area (CSA) measurements of the ulnar nerve were noted at multiple levels along the arm, and the distal-to-proximal ratios were calculated. Almost all of the measurements and swelling ratios between patients and controls showed statistically significant differences. The largest CSA, distal/largest CSA ratio, CSA at the epicondyle, and proximal LAPD had larger areas under the curve than other measurements. The sensitivity and specificity in diagnosing UNE were 95% and 71% for the largest CSA, 83% and 85% for the distal/largest CSA ratio, 83% and 81% for the CSA at the epicondyle, and 93% and 43% for the proximal LAPD, respectively. There was a statistically significant correlation between the electrophysiological severity scale score (ESSS) and the largest CSA, the CSA at the epicondyle and 2 cm proximal to the epicondyle, and the LAPD at the level of the epicondyle (P < 0.05). None of the swelling ratios showed a significant correlation with the ESSS. The largest CSA measurement is the most valuable ultrasonographic measurement both for diagnosis and determining the severity of UNE. Muscle Nerve, 2010 [source]