TY - JOUR
T1 - Detection of peripheral nerve pathology
T2 - Comparison of ultrasound and MRI
AU - Zaidman, Craig M.
AU - Seelig, Michael J.
AU - Baker, Jonathan C.
AU - Mackinnon, Susan E.
AU - Pestronk, Alan
PY - 2013/4/30
Y1 - 2013/4/30
N2 - Objective: To compare accuracy of ultrasound and MRI for detecting focal peripheral nerve pathology, excluding idiopathic carpal or cubital tunnel syndromes. Methods: We performed a retrospective review of patients referred for neuromuscular ultrasound to identify patients who had ultrasound and MRI of the same limb for suspected brachial plexopathy or mononeuropathies, excluding carpal/cubital tunnel syndromes. Ultrasound and MRI results were compared to diagnoses determined by surgical or, if not performed, clinical/ electrodiagnostic evaluation. Results: We identified 53 patients who had both ultrasound and MRI of whom 46 (87%) had nerve pathology diagnosed by surgical (n = 39) or clinical/electrodiagnostic (n = 14) evaluation. Ultrasound detected the diagnosed nerve pathology (true positive)more often than MRI (43/46 vs 31/46, p<0.001). Nerve pathology was correctly excluded (true negative) with equal frequency by MRI and ultrasound (both 6/7). In 25%(13/53), ultrasound was accurate (true positive or true negative) when MRI was not. These pathologies were typically (10/13) long (>2 cm) and only occasionally (2/13) outside the MRI field of view. MRI missed multifocal pathology identified with ultrasound in 6 of 7 patients, often (5/7) because pathology was outside the MRI field of view. Conclusions: Imaging frequently detects peripheral nerve pathology and contributes to the differential diagnosis in patients with mononeuropathies and brachial plexopathies. Ultrasound is more sensitive than MRI (93% vs 67%), has equivalent specificity (86%), and better identifies multifocal lesions than MRI. In sonographically accessible regions ultrasound is the preferred initial imaging modality for anatomic evaluation of suspected peripheral nervous system lesions.
AB - Objective: To compare accuracy of ultrasound and MRI for detecting focal peripheral nerve pathology, excluding idiopathic carpal or cubital tunnel syndromes. Methods: We performed a retrospective review of patients referred for neuromuscular ultrasound to identify patients who had ultrasound and MRI of the same limb for suspected brachial plexopathy or mononeuropathies, excluding carpal/cubital tunnel syndromes. Ultrasound and MRI results were compared to diagnoses determined by surgical or, if not performed, clinical/ electrodiagnostic evaluation. Results: We identified 53 patients who had both ultrasound and MRI of whom 46 (87%) had nerve pathology diagnosed by surgical (n = 39) or clinical/electrodiagnostic (n = 14) evaluation. Ultrasound detected the diagnosed nerve pathology (true positive)more often than MRI (43/46 vs 31/46, p<0.001). Nerve pathology was correctly excluded (true negative) with equal frequency by MRI and ultrasound (both 6/7). In 25%(13/53), ultrasound was accurate (true positive or true negative) when MRI was not. These pathologies were typically (10/13) long (>2 cm) and only occasionally (2/13) outside the MRI field of view. MRI missed multifocal pathology identified with ultrasound in 6 of 7 patients, often (5/7) because pathology was outside the MRI field of view. Conclusions: Imaging frequently detects peripheral nerve pathology and contributes to the differential diagnosis in patients with mononeuropathies and brachial plexopathies. Ultrasound is more sensitive than MRI (93% vs 67%), has equivalent specificity (86%), and better identifies multifocal lesions than MRI. In sonographically accessible regions ultrasound is the preferred initial imaging modality for anatomic evaluation of suspected peripheral nervous system lesions.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84879091868&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1212/WNL.0b013e3182904f3f
DO - 10.1212/WNL.0b013e3182904f3f
M3 - Article
C2 - 23553474
AN - SCOPUS:84879091868
SN - 0028-3878
VL - 80
SP - 1634
EP - 1640
JO - Neurology
JF - Neurology
IS - 18
ER -