Assessment of De Quervain Tenosynovitis Patients with Strain-Based Elastography

Abstract

Elastography was introduced to clinical practice almost two decades back, to further enhance ultrasound imaging for illustrating the difference in mechanical properties between diseased and healthy tissues, i.e., difference in tissue stiffness, in a qualitative and quantitative way. In the nineteenth century, Fritz De Quervain reported patients with pain and swelling at the wrist. It is an entrapment condition of the tendons within the first extensor compartment. The advantages of ultrasound (U/S), in general, is being a rapid bed-side test, low cost, availability, and great patient compliance all of which elastography makes use of. Elastography imaging for liver fibrosis assessment is a well-known technique; yet recent territories for tissue elasticity assessment are emerging. One of these large territories is muscle tendons elasticity assessment in different pathologic conditions. One of these areas is changes in tendons stiffness. Fifty-two subjects were studied, 30 diseased and 22 healthy. The main complaint of the diseased group was pain at the radial side of the wrist, while healthy subjects were symptom free. Sensitivity was 92%, while specificity was 93%. From my work, I reached the conclusion of that the disease can be diagnosed with strain-based elastography in a quantitative way with confidence and reliability.