Preliminary study of the types of traumatic peripheral nerve injuries by ultrasound.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the types of traumatic peripheral nerve injuries by ultrasound (US). To demonstrate the efficacy of US in case of peripheral nerve injuries and, in particular, its importance of demonstrating and monitoring the appearances of the nerve itself. METHODS: Two hundred and two patients, of which 117 subsequently underwent operative treatment, were prospectively examined by US in such a way that the transducer was moved to the nerve damaged region from the normal nerve located near a known anatomical landmark. The ultrasound features of the traumatic peripheral nerve injuries were classified according to abnormal fascicle, perineurium, epineurium, and peripheral tissues of peripheral nerve. RESULTS: The ultrasound features of the traumatic peripheral nerve injuries were classified into 7 types. In the 117 cases that underwent operative treatment, the accuracy of classification by using US was 93.2%. CONCLUSIONS: Ultrasound seems to be a valuable investigation for evaluating the type of traumatic peripheral nerve injury.