Electrophysiological study of the ulnar palmar cutaneous nerve in normal individuals

Abstract

Introduction The electrophysiological assessment of the ulnar palmar cutaneous nerve (UPCN) is clinically essential to assess the integrity of this nerve in some clinical situations that involve compression or injury of this nerve. Aim This study proposed to assess the electrophysiological antidromic technique of the UPCN and to obtain normal reference values for the electrophysiological parameters of this nerve. Settings and design It is a single-center public hospital-based electromyography laboratory. It is a cross-sectional study of consecutive apparently healthy volunteers. Patients and methods The study included 70 apparently healthy volunteers. Antidromic sensory nerve conduction study of the UPCN was carried out. Statistical analysis Quantitative data were analyzed using Student’s t-test and paired t-test. Correlation was tested using the Pearson correlation test. Results The present study included 119 hands of 70 healthy individuals [36 (51.43%) women]. Their mean age was 41.91±13.21 years. The UPCN was elicited in 116 (97.48%) hands. The estimated reference values (mean±2 standard deviations) for the UPCN sensory nerve action potential were determined for onset latency (≤2.1 ms), peak latency (≤2.8 ms), conduction velocity (≥46.4 m/s), amplitude (≥6.9 µV), and interside sensory nerve action potential amplitude ratio (≥0.50). Conclusion This study provided a feasible electrophysiological antidromic technique and normal reference values for sensory conduction study of the UPCN.

Keywords

• antidromic technique
• palmar cutaneous nerve
• sensory nerve conduction study
• ulnar nerve
• ulnar palmar cutaneous nerve