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An Electrophysiological Quantitation of the Cubital Tunnel Syndrome

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 September 2015

Kayode Odusote  and
Andrew Eisen
Kayode Odusote
Affiliation:
Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital, Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
Andrew Eisen*
Affiliation:
Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital, Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
*
Montreal Neurological Institute, 3801 University Street, Montreal, Quebec, H3A 2B4, Canada
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Four hundred and ninetytwo ulnar nerves were studied in 237 patients with cubital tunnel syndrome and 233 subjects without clinically apparent ulnar neuropathy. Terminal motor and sensory latencies, motor and sensory conduction velocities, sensory action potential amplitudes and dispersions, and needle electromyography were analysed by a 0 to 10 rating — the EMG score. The patients were clinically graded from 1 (least severe) to 4 (most severe). The median EMG scores of these were 0.9/10 (N=70): 1.6/10 (N=81); 4.7/10 (N=46); and 7.1/10 (N=56), respectively. The median EMG score for the controls was 0.6/10 (N=239) and 14.7% had asymptomatic ulnar entrapments. This incidence reached 30% in controls who were 60years or older. In 25 other controls, the above sulcus sensory action potential was analysed. Its mean dispersion was 4.9 ± 1.0 s-3. This measurement was significantly prolonged in 84.6% of 13 studies in which the EMG score was 0/10. These patients had either sensory symptoms only or an additional mild sensory deficit. Comparison of the EMG score obtained with sequential studies would allow one to objectively evaluate improvement or deterioration of the clinical state, giving a rational means of determining the need for surgery.

Type
Research Article
Information
Canadian Journal of Neurological Sciences , Volume 6 , Issue 4 , November 1979 , pp. 403 - 410
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Neurological Sciences Federation 1979

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