Role of US in Evaluation of Tendon and Ligament Abnormalities in Hand and Fingers

Role of Ultrasound in Evaluation of Tendon and Ligament Abnormalities in Hand and Fingers

Assessment of the role of USG in the evaluation of tendon and ligament abnormalities in hand and fingers in traumatic & non-traumatic causes.

Study Overview

• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Conditions: Tendon Disorder
• Intervention / Treatment: Device: Ultrasound

Detailed Description

The hand and fingers are the most important functional parts of the body in daily life activities and are prone to traumatic injuries and susceptible to a wide array of inflammatory diseases. Tendon abnormalities of the hand and the fingers are common disorders, particularly among athletes and in the elderly. These abnormalities may be symptomatic degenerative changes, inflammatory, or rupture. Tendon disorders are a common cause of pain and loss of function. Chronic tendon disorders are much more common than acute injuries and are the result of overuse or age-related tendon degeneration.

There is a wide spectrum of hand and finger pathological conditions that can be demonstrated using Ultrasonography. Superficial structures of the wrist, hand, and fingers, including the tendons, ligaments, nerves, and vessels, are amenable to imaging with high-frequency US. US can depict masses and fluid collections, help locate radiolucent foreign bodies, characterize traumatic or overuse tendon or ligament pathology, and help evaluate compressive peripheral neuropathy and microvascular blood flow. Additionally, this modality improves the accuracy of therapeutic intra-articular or peritendinous injections and facilitates aspiration of fluid collections, such as ganglia.

Due to the improvement of imaging techniques in the last years, the performance of ultrasonography (US) in detecting pathological changes in the musculoskeletal system dramatically increased. Moreover, dynamic examination allows better evaluation of the type and extension of the lesions. An anatomical course of the nerves and tendons can be depicted by US, thus offering valuable information on the exact location and type of possible lesions.

The role of USG in the assessment of tendon disorders is steadily increasing due to its being low cost, fast, wide-spread availability, and non-invasive. Additionally, it may offer a dynamic assessment of the flexor and extensor tendons, collateral ligaments, and supporting structures of the fingers, such as the extensor hood and the volar plate, as well as space-occupying lesions.

The quality of USG assessment of anatomical structures in the hand has highly improved over the last time. The development of high resolution with the highest possible frequency of modern ultrasound equipment and the superficial location of most tendons allows the spectrum of tendon abnormalities to be easily depicted with USG. US facilitates dynamic, real-time evaluation of bones, joints, tendons, nerves, and vessels, making it an ideal imaging modality for hand and finger conditions.

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Anticipated): 60

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Wafaa Ahmed, Master degree; Phone Number: 01068066176; Email: Wafaa.20134481@med.aun.edu.eg
• Study Contact Backup: Name: Mostafa Thabet, Professor; Phone Number: 01064881044; Email: drsayed121@yahoo.com

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Child; Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: N/A
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Patients complaining of pain or masses in hands or fingers, patients with inflammatory conditions, and traumatic injuries.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Patients complaining of pain or masses of the hands and the fingers or referred for assessment of tendon & ligaments which are involved in such pain and swellings.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Patients with a recent history of local operative intervention will be excluded

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Evaluating the tendon and ligament abnormalities by the US and correlating them with the symptoms.	characterization of tendon and ligament pathologies in hand and fingers in traumatic and non-traumatic causes by using clinical history and imaging appearance by US, one can determine the diagnosis	Baseline

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Assessment of the role of USG in the evaluation of tendon and ligament abnormalities in hand and fingers.	help in the diagnosis of different hand and finger diseases, view of reliability and sensitivity: specificity ratio in assessing tendon and ligament diseases in hand and fingers either in inflammatory conditions or traumatic injuries	Baseline

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Assiut University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Anticipated): December 1, 2022
• Primary Completion (Anticipated): November 11, 2023
• Study Completion (Anticipated): December 1, 2023

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: April 5, 2022
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 5, 2022
• First Posted (Actual): April 12, 2022

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): April 12, 2022
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 5, 2022
• Last Verified: April 1, 2022

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Wounds and Injuries; Musculoskeletal Diseases; Muscular Diseases; Tendon Injuries; Tendinopathy
• Other Study ID Numbers: US in hand & fingers