Diagnostic Accuracy of the Clinical Tests and the Ultrasonography in Lateral Elbow Tendinopathy

January 11, 2026 updated by: İlker Yağcı, Marmara University

Diagnostic Accuracy of the Clinical Tests and the Musculoskeletal Ultrasonography in Lateral Elbow Tendinopathy

Lateral elbow tendinopathy (LET) is the most common cause of elbow pain. Even though provocation tests such as Cozen's test, Mill's test or Maudsley test; musculoskeletal ultrasound or magnetic resonance imaging can be used for diagnosis, gold standard method is yet to be determined. Purpose of this study is to determine the sensitivity and specificity of clinical tests and ultrasonography in diagnosis of LET.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Observational

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
100

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Locations

  • Turkey (Türkiye)
    • Maltepe
      • Istanbul, Maltepe, Turkey (Türkiye), 34844
        • Recruiting
        • Marmara University
        • Principal Investigator:
          • İlker Yağcı, Prof. M.D.
        • Sub-Investigator:
          • Naime Evrim Karadağ Saygı, Prof. M.D.
        • Contact:
        • Sub-Investigator:
          • Arda Can Kasap, M.D.

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Patients presented to the outpatient clinic of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation of Marmara University with elbow pain and diagnosed with lateral epicondylitis will be informed about the study. Willing patients will be enrolled after written consent is taken.

Control group will be chosen with volunteers, which have similar demographic characteristics.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Patients aged 18-60 with unilateral elbow pain
  • Tenderness with palpation at the lateral epicondyle
  • Pain triggered with pressure compared to the opposite lateral epicondyle with algometer.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • History of rheumatologic diseases
  • History of e corticosteroid injections on lateral epicondyle
  • History of elbow surgery or infection

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort

Group / Cohort

A group or subgroup of participants in an observational study that is assessed for biomedical or health outcomes.
Control
Healthy volunteers with similar demographic characteristics will be enrolled to this group.
Lateral elbow tendinopathy
Patients with lateral epicondylitis will be included in this group.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Elastography
Time Frame: At enrollment
Both shear wave and strain elastography will be applied. Stiffness and shear wave velocity will be calculated on shear wave elastography and strain ratio will be calculated on strain elastography.
At enrollment

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Musculoskeletal ultrasound
Time Frame: At enrollment
Sonographic evaluation will begin with gray scale examination. Swelling, cortical irregularity, hypoechogenicity, calcification, tear common extensor tendon thickness will be assessed. Power doppler will be evaluated between the superficial fibers of the common extensor tendon, the bone surface, the insertion point of the common extensor tendon and the humeroradial joint. Doppler activity will be graded based in a 0.5-cm longitudinal part of the tendon with the maximal Doppler activity (the region of interest-ROI). The 5-point grading will be as follows. Grade 0: No activity, Grade 1: Single vessel, Grade 2: Doppler activity in 0-25% of the ROI, Grade 3: Doppler activity in 25-50% of the ROI, Grade 4: Doppler activity in >50 of ROI. Lastly elastography will be used.
At enrollment
Cozen's test
Time Frame: At enrollment
Resisted wrist extension will be performed while patient is sitting and elbow on extension. Cozen's test will be applied to both extremities. Pain felt on the lateral epicondyle during provocation indicates a positive test result.
At enrollment
Maudsley's Test
Time Frame: At enrollment
Resisted third finger extension will be performed while patient is sitting and elbow on 90 degrees flexion. Maudsley's test will be applied to both extremities. Pain felt on the lateral epicondyle during provocation indicates a positive test result.
At enrollment
Mill's test
Time Frame: At enrollment
Maximal wrist flexion will be performed while patient is sitting, elbow on extension and forearm pronation. Mill's test will be applied to both extremities. Pain felt on the lateral epicondyle during provocation indicates a positive test result.
At enrollment
Hand Grip Strength
Time Frame: At enrollment
Both painless and maximum grip strength will be examined using Jamar's hand dynamometer.
At enrollment
Algometer
Time Frame: At enrollment
Force will be applied to lateral epicondyle using an algometer.
At enrollment
Patient Rated Tennis Elbow Evaluation
Time Frame: At enrollment
Patient Rated Tennis Elbow Evaluation will be used to assess pain and functional status in patients diagnosed with LET.
At enrollment

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Marmara University

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: İlker Yağcı, Prof. M.D., Acıbadem Ataşehir Hospital

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
October 17, 2025

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
January 31, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
March 26, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
December 24, 2025

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
January 11, 2026

First Posted (Estimated)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
January 16, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimated)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
January 16, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
January 11, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
January 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 09.2025.25-0880

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

Due to legal restrictions, all data will be anonymized. Individual participant data won't be shared to third parties.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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