Aims and objectives
The wrist and handare one of the most functional parts of the body used for daily life activities thatare prone to trauma.Traumatic soft tissue injuries and other pathologies of the hand may affect tendons,
ligaments,
muscles and nerves and can be quite complex in nature.
These injuries may result in significant disability and require prompt and accurate characterization to ensure effective treatment.
Ultrasound is a readily available,
non-invasive and dynamic imaging modality that can be used to characterize musculoskeletal injury.
This study aims to assess...
Methods and materials
A retrospective chart review was performed on patients undergoing ultrasound examination for hand injuries from 6/13/2014 to 7/23/2018.
Types of injury were recorded,
including tendon,
ligament and nerve damage.
Surgical findings and clinical outcomes following ultrasound were also recorded to evaluate diagnostic accuracy.
Results
53 patients who underwent ultrasound for hand injuries had surgery (46/53) and/or robust clinical follow-up.
Confirmed diagnoses included: Tendon injury (26 patients),
retained foreign body (12),
inflammatory arthropathy (5),
ligamentous injury (3),
nerve injury (3),
ganglion cysts (2),
hematoma (1),
and deep venous thrombosis (1).
The concordance rate of ultrasound with surgical findings and/or clinical outcomes was 92.5% (49/53).
In 4 cases,
tendon pathology detected intra-operatively was not detected on ultrasound.
The 4 cases included: Partial tear of flexor profundus and complete tear of flexor...
Conclusion
Ultrasound is highly accurate in the detection of soft tissue hand injury and pathology,
demonstrating a high concurrence rate with surgical and clinical findings.
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