Reference values for the cross sectional area of normal tibial nerve on high-resolution ultrasonography
, and | Sep 01, 2022
Article Category: research-paper
Published Online: Sep 01, 2022
Page range: e144 - e152
Received: Nov 24, 2021
Accepted: Mar 02, 2022
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15557/jou.2022.0024
Keywords
© 2022 Kunwar Pal Singh et al., published by Sciendo
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Aim
The aim of the study was to establish reference values for the cross-sectional area of the tibial nerve on high-resolution ultrasonography and to investigate the relationship between the cross-sectional area of the tibial nerve and subject’s age, gender, height (in cm), weight (in kg) and body mass index.
Methods
Two hundred subjects of either gender and over 18 years of age with no history of peripheral neuropathy or trauma to the lower limb were evaluated with high-resolution ultrasonography. Mean cross-sectional areas of tibial nerves were measured at two different levels in both lower limbs, first at 1 cm below the bifurcation of the sciatic nerve into tibial and common peroneal nerves (level I) and the second at 1 cm superior and posterior to the medial malleolus (level II).
Results
The mean cross-sectional area measured at level I (0.196 + 0.014 cm2) was larger than the one measured at level II (0.111 ± 0.011 cm2). A positive correlation was found between the mean cross-sectional area and height, weight, and body mass index (
Conclusion
The established reference values of the cross-sectional area of the tibial nerve will aid in early diagnosis of peripheral neuropathy.