ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Neurol.
Sec. Neuromuscular Disorders and Peripheral Neuropathies
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fneur.2025.1664216
Proposal for an e,icient, minimal electrodiagnostic protocol for confirmation of clinically diagnosed ulnar nerve entrapment neuropathy at the elbow
Provisionally accepted
- 1Haga Hospital, The Hague, Netherlands
- 2Canisius Wilhelmina Ziekenhuis, Nijmegen, Netherlands
- 3Radboud universitair medisch centrum, Nijmegen, Netherlands
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Abstract Introduction The clinical diagnosis of ulnar nerve entrapment at the elbow can reliably be made based on typical clinical symptoms of UNE. In the present study, we constructed an eOicient, minimal electrodiagnostic protocol for confirmation of clinically diagnosed UNE. Methods A prospective cross-sectional cohort observational study was conducted amongst patients with clinical suspicion of UNE. In all, 210 arms were included, each examined according to a standard neurophysiological protocol. Results Nerve conduction studies (NCS) indicated abnormalities in 60.5% of the cases. Of these, 84.3% had abnormal NCS results for the abductor digiti quinti muscle (ADV). The first dorsal interosseous muscle (FDI) and sensory NCS were abnormal in 68.5% and 59.1% of these cases, respectively. Conclusion We recommend starting with NCS of the ADV for cases requiring only one abnormal test is needed to confirm the clinical diagnosis of UNE, followed by sensory NCS if the NCS of the ADV is normal.
Keywords: UNE, Ulnar Nerve, Electrodiagnostics, Nerve conduction studies, protocol
Received: 11 Jul 2025; Accepted: 23 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Kurver, Meulstee, Bartels and Verhagen. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Anne Kurver, annekurver@hotmail.com
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