A Prospective Study of High-resolution Ultrasonography in Examination of Lower Extremity Peripheral Nerves in Patients With Compression Neuropathies and in Healthy Controls.

The usual diagnostic work-up of patients referred for lower-extremity neuropathy includes clinical examination, biochemical tests (blood and cerebrospinal fluid), electrophysiological assessment and if necessary nerve biopsy. The electrophysiological assessment usually consists of nerve conduction studies (NCS) and electromyography (EMG). While electrophysiological measurements generally give information about the function of nerves, high-resolution ultrasound may provide information about the structure of nerves.

High-resolution ultrasound examination has shown promising results as a supplementary tool in the diagnostic work-up of various peripheral neuropathies. The clinical utility of ultrasound in the diagnosis of common fibular neuropathies, however, calls for further elucidation.

This study establishes reference material of selected lower extremity nerves at pre-defined sites with high-resolution ultrasound. Furthermore in this study, high-resolution ultrasound of patients with common fibular compression neuropathy and patients with type 2 diabetic polyneuropathy involving the common fibular nerve will be examined and compared to healthy controls, as well as each other. High-resolution ultrasound measurements will be correlated with history, clinical information and electrophysiological data.