High resolution ultrasonography in the diagnosis of the carpal tunnel syndrome.

Purpose: Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is a neuropathy caused by compression of the median nerve in the carpal tunnel. Our purpose was to evaluate the role of high-resolution ultrasonography (US), performed with a 10-13 MHz probe, in the detection of morphovolumetric changes of the median nerve to confirm the clinical diagnosis.

Materials And Methods: Fifty healthy volunteers were examined first by US; subsequently we studied 294 wrists in 186 symptomatic patients, calculating the cross-sectional area of the median nerve at three levels: before the median nerve enters the carpal tunnel, at the carpal tunnel inlet and at the outlet.