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Published in: Skeletal Radiology 1/2019

01-01-2019 | Scientific Article

Sonoelastographic evaluation of the sciatic nerve in patients with unilateral lumbar disc herniation

Authors: Umut Orkun Çelebi, Veysel Burulday, Mehmet Faik Özveren, Adil Doğan, Mehmet Hüseyin Akgül

Published in: Skeletal Radiology | Issue 1/2019

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Abstract

Objective

The aim of this study was to compare strain elastography (SE) and shear wave elastography (SWE) findings of the sciatic nerve in patients with unilateral lumbar disc herniation (LDH) and healthy control subjects.

Materials and methods

The study group included patients with complaints of unilateral sciatica for 3–12 months, with foraminal stenosis due to one level of LDH (L4-L5 or L5-S1). An age- and gender-matched control group was formed of healthy subjects. Evaluations were performed on both the axial and longitudinal planes from the bilateral gluteal region using a 5–9 MHz multifrequency convex probe.

Results

There were 40 patients (20 male, 20 female) with a mean age of 43.1 ± 12.7 years in the study group, and 40 healthy subjects (22 male, 18 female) with a mean age of 42.9 ± 10.7 years in the control group (p > 0.05). The sciatic nerve stiffness assessed on both the axial (12.3 ± 3.7 kPA) and longitudinal (14.3 ± 3.8 kPA) planes of the involved side was significantly higher than non-involved side (axial: 6.8 ± 2.1 and longitudinal: 8.3 ± 2.3 kPA) in the patient group (p < 0.001).

Conclusions

Patients with unilateral LDH have increased stiffness of the sciatic nerve compared to healthy control subjects. Although the findings in this preliminary study show that shear wave elastography can detect a change in sciatic nerve stiffness in patients with unilateral LDH, larger studies are required to determine the clinical utility of this technique.
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Metadata
Title
Sonoelastographic evaluation of the sciatic nerve in patients with unilateral lumbar disc herniation
Authors
Umut Orkun Çelebi
Veysel Burulday
Mehmet Faik Özveren
Adil Doğan
Mehmet Hüseyin Akgül
Publication date
01-01-2019
Publisher
Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Published in
Skeletal Radiology / Issue 1/2019
Print ISSN: 0364-2348
Electronic ISSN: 1432-2161
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00256-018-3020-7

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