Ultrasonography (US) is being extensively as a supplement to nerve conduction studies. US may reveal the site of compression and shed light on the pathophysiology of the nerve dysfunction.

We have conducted a large prospective study in patients with carpal tunnel symptoms where we investigated the correlation between nerve conduction studies and US measurements of the median nerve at the wrist and at the forearm. Moreover, normative data of the median nerve at different levels in the forearm were collected.

US of ulnar nerve entrapment at the elbow(UNE) is another topic of interest to us. We performed a prospective, blinded study (Ellegaard HR et al, 2015) in patients with UNE and correlated the US findings with the clinical and electrophysiological characteristics . Moreover we established reference values among a group of healthy controls. The method is actually being used in our department as a supplement to nerve conduction studies.

We are at the moment conducting a multicenter international study in collaboration with the Department of Neurology, Aarhus and Italy and USA in patients with inflammatory polyneuropathies.

US of the brachial plexus is another area of research interest. The diagnosis of brachial amyotrophy or other brachial plexopathies  is sometimes  difficult to establish with nerve conductions studies and electromyography.  Thus,  we are at the moment performing a prospective study in patients with brachial plexopathies of different aetiologies and will correlate clinical and electrophysiological characteristics with US measurements in patients and establish reference values among a group of healthy controls. 

In collaboration with Danish Pain Research Center we are examining the prevalence of the US detected neuromas in patients with amputations and with other forms of nerve damage. Moreover we want to examine the effect on pain of US guided lidocaine injection of the neuromas. 

Contacts

Erisela Qerama Montvilas, MD, PhD, Associate Professor, erimon@rm.dk