Reference data for ulnar nerve short segment conduction studies at the elbow.

Introduction: The aim of this study was to generate reference data for ulnar nerve short segment conduction studies (SSCSs) at 2-cm intervals.

Methods: Ulnar nerve SSCS data were collected from dominant and non-dominant arms of 200 healthy volunteers. The effects of age, gender, weight, height, and body mass index (BMI) on SSCSs were also investigated.

Results: High percentile values for short segment latency changes varied from 0.4 to 0.7 ms. Ulnar nerve conductions were slower in the segments 2 cm below and above the elbow compared with the other segments. The amplitude was found not to decrease by >15% in subsequent short segments. There were no significant effects of age and gender on the SSCS parameters. Conductions over the short segments tended to be faster as BMI increased.

Conclusions: Reference values should be determined separately over each 2-cm segment, and the effect of BMI should be considered when interpreting SSCSs.