Xue Deng
The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Posters & Accepted Abstracts: J Neurol Neurophysiol
Aim: To explore the agreement between ultrasound and Nerve Conduction Studies (NCS) for screening
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) associated with axonal degeneration.
Method: Seventy-eight (78) subjects (13 men, 65 women, mean age 61.02±9.0 years), with 87 CTS hands
enrolled and assigned into Group-1 (Demyelinated CTS, n1=46) and Group-2 (CTS associated with axonal
degeneration, n2=41) based on the NCS performance. Previous identified cut-off values of ultrasound
parameters were respectively used for group classification. Correlation and agreement between ultrasound
and NCS measurements were examined. Cohenâ??s kappa, concordance, sensitivity and specificity were tested.
Results: Pearsonâ??s r test revealed mild to moderate correlation (r=-0.242-0.338) while Spearmanâ??s rho test
indicated mild to moderate agreement between NCS and each ultrasound parameter (r=0.213-0.408) for
screening axonal degeneration associated in CTS, with overall satisfactory Cohenâ??s Kappa (0.182-0.396),
concordance (56.82%-76.25%), sensitivity (78.9%-86.8%) and specificity (46%-79.5%) among ultrasound
parameters.
Conclusion: There is acceptable agreement between ultrasound and NCS for screening axonal degeneration
associated in CTS. A combinative use of ultrasound and NCS has the potential to reflect the pathological
stage in CTS. It can be a promising assessment protocol to provide complementary diagnostic information
for better treatment regime planning.
E-mail: dannytang023@gmail.com
