Accuracy of Ultrasonography for the Diagnosis of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Publication date: April 2018
Source:Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Volume 99, Issue 4
Author(s): Ana Torres-Costoso, Vicente Martínez-Vizcaíno, Celia Álvarez-Bueno, Asunción Ferri-Morales, Iván Cavero-Redondo
ObjectiveTo evaluate the accuracy of inlet and outlet ultrasonography measurements for the diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS).Data SourcesMEDLINE, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, and the Web of Science databases were systematically searched from inception to February 2017.Study SelectionObservational studies comparing the diagnostic accuracy of inlet and outlet ultrasonography measurements were selected.Data ExtractionRandom-effects models for the diagnostic odds ratio (dOR) values computed by Moses' constant for a linear model and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to calculate the accuracy of the test. Hierarchical summary receiver operating characteristic curves were used to summarize overall test performance.Data SynthesisTwenty-eight published studies were included in the meta-analysis. The pooled dOR values for the diagnosis of CTS were 31.11 (95% CI, 20.42–47.40) for inlet-level and 16.94 (95% CI, 7.58–37.86) for outlet-level measurements. The 95% confidence region for the point that summarizes overall test performance of the included studies occurred where the cutoffs ranged from 9.0 to 12.6mm² for inlet-level measurements and from 9.5 to 10.0mm² for outlet-level measurements.ConclusionsBoth ultrasonography measurements for the diagnosis of CTS showed sufficient accuracy for their use in clinical settings, although the overall accuracy was slightly higher for inlet-level than for outlet-level measurements. The addition of outlet and inlet measurements does not increase the accuracy for the diagnosis. Therefore, the inlet-level ultrasonography measurement appears to be an appropriate method for the diagnosis of CTS.



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