Volume 55, Issue 6 pp. 849-857
Clinical Research

Ultrasound versus MRI in common fibular neuropathy

Bianca Bignotti MD

Bianca Bignotti MD

Department of Health Sciences (DISSAL), University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy

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Andrea Assini MD

Andrea Assini MD

Ente Ospedaliero Ospedali Galliera, Genova, Italy

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Alessio Signori PhD

Alessio Signori PhD

Department of Health Sciences (DISSAL), University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy

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Carlo Martinoli MD

Carlo Martinoli MD

Department of Health Sciences (DISSAL), University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy

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Alberto Tagliafico MD

Corresponding Author

Alberto Tagliafico MD

Institute of Anatomy, Department of Experimental Medicine (DIMES), University of Genoa, Via L.B. Alberti 2, 16132 Genoa, Italy

Correspondence to: A. Tagliafico; e-mail: [email protected]Search for more papers by this author
First published: 26 September 2016
Citations: 23

Funding: This study was partially funded by the University of Genoa.

ABSTRACT

Introduction

We prospectively compared ultrasound (US) and MRI in patients with common fibular neuropathy.

Methods

Forty adult patients with clinical suspicion of common fibular neuropathy and 40 healthy controls underwent both US and MRI. US and MRI datasets were randomized for prospective reading.

Results

The overall sensitivity of US and MRI for diagnosing fibular neuropathy was 90% (95% confidence interval [CI], 79.7%-97.3%) and 87.5% (95% CI, 71.55%-93.1%), respectively. The overall specificity of US and MRI was 92% (95% CI, 77.45%-96.1%) and 85% (95% CI, 73.3%-94.4%), respectively. The overall sensitivity and specificity of US combined with MRI were 94% (95% CI, 0.80%-0.99%) and 84% (95% CI, 0.70%-0.91%), respectively. Overall intra- and inter-observer agreements among 3 readers were 0.76% (95% CI, 0.62%-0.85%) and 0.74% (95% CI, 0.65%-0.81%).

Conclusions

US diagnostic accuracy for common fibular neuropathy was slightly higher than that of MRI. Muscle Nerve 55: 849–857, 2017

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