Zahra Mirzaasgari; Bahram Haghi-Ashtiani; Farshid Refaiean; Farzan Vahedifard; Amir Sina Homayooni; Mahsa Sobhkhiz
Abstract
Background: Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is the most prevalent entrapment syndrome in the upper limbs, for which pregnancy is a known risk factor. CTS diagnosis is confirmed via nerve conduction studies (NCSs), which sometimes is expensive, and the electrical stimulation makes it an unpleasant diagnostic ...
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Background: Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is the most prevalent entrapment syndrome in the upper limbs, for which pregnancy is a known risk factor. CTS diagnosis is confirmed via nerve conduction studies (NCSs), which sometimes is expensive, and the electrical stimulation makes it an unpleasant diagnostic modality, especially for pregnant subjects. Recently, high-frequency ultrasonography (HF-USG) is known as a diagnostic method. This study is concerned with determining the diagnostic value of this modality for CTS among pregnant women. Methods: This cross-sectional case-control study was conducted with 40 CTS cases and 40 matched controls. The HF-USG of wrists was performed bilaterally on all participants with a focus on the median nerve cross-sectional area (MNCSA) at the carpal tunnel (CT) inlet. Results: Mean MNCSA was statistically different between the CTS group (11.71 ± 1.86 mm2, range: 8 to 18 mm2) and the control group (6.75 ± 1.38 mm2, range: 4 to 11 mm2) (P < 0.001). The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was drawn, and the cross-sectional area (CSA) cut-off point of 8.5 mm2 showed sensitivity and specificity of 98% and 93%, respectively. The positive predictive value (PPV) and the negative predictive value (NPV) were 95% and 98%, respectively, with the mentioned point as the diagnostic threshold. Conclusion: HF-USG of the median nerve can be utilized as a preferable alternative to NCS (the current gold standard diagnostic method) in pregnant women, due to its convenience and lower cost, or at least, it can be used as a screening tool among pregnant women with suspicious symptoms.
Mansoureh Togha; Kamran Shirbache; Reza Rahmanzadeh; Zeinab Ghorbani; Zahra Yari; Farshid Refaeian; Shirin Behbahani; Parsa Panahi
Volume 17, Issue 4 , December 2018, , Pages 161-166
Abstract
Background: Idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) encompasses patients with elevated intracranial pressure (ICP). Generally, it is difficult to make a differential diagnosis between IIH and co-existing migraine headaches. Thus, this article intends to estimate the prevalence of migraine in patients ...
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Background: Idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) encompasses patients with elevated intracranial pressure (ICP). Generally, it is difficult to make a differential diagnosis between IIH and co-existing migraine headaches. Thus, this article intends to estimate the prevalence of migraine in patients with IIH and explain the occurrence of new-onset migraine after the diagnosis of IIH.
Methods: The case group included 108 patients with IIH referred to the neurology wards of three university hospitals. A random sample of controls (n = 103) were recruited from patients hospitalized in the surgery and orthopedics ward. A checklist for migraine diagnosis was filled out. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) pressure and presence or absence of papilloedema (PE) in the patients and any necessary data were also recorded from the inpatient medical documents. All statistical analyses were done by SPSS software.
Results: There were 70 (64.80%) and 22 (21.40%) migraineurs in the case and control groups, respectively, and the difference was found to be significant (P < 0.001). In 26 (37.14%) migraine cases in the IIH group, the disorder was diagnosed after developing IIH. Also, there was a past medical history of having migraine in 44 (62.85%) migraineurs. In the fully adjusted regression models, the odds of being affected by migraine in patients with IIH was 6.17 times greater than the controls [odds ratio (OR) = 7.15, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 3.56-14.36, P < 0.010]. The patients’ mean CSF opening pressure was 32.10 ± 1.03 cmH2O and 93 (81.60%) subjects were found to have PE.
Conclusion: It was demonstrated that subjects with IIH might have about a 6-time higher likelihood of developing migraine headache than the general population. These considerations can help prevent misdiagnosis of migraine headache as the recurrence of IIH or uncontrolled IIH and subsequent inappropriate management.
