Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine, Vol 16, Issue 10 685-689, Copyright © 1997 by American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine
Ultrasonographic evaluation of de Quervain disease
F. Giovagnorio, C. Andreoli and M. L. De Cicco
Dipartimento di Medicina Sperimentale e Patologia, Universita La Sapienza, Rome, Italy.
De Quervain disease is a job-related tenosynovitis that affects the
synovial sheath of the tendons of the abductor pollicis longus and extensor
pollicis brevis muscles; it is associated with pain and functional
impairment and progresses to cause local fibrosis with blockage or
triggering of the thumb. High-resolution ultrasonography of the wrist was
performed in eight patients with de Quervain disease; the examination was
performed in axial and coronal scans with a 13 MHz linear transducer. The
evaluation of normal wrists helped to define the normal sonographic anatomy
of the first extensor compartment; obvious changes of the tendon sheath
were noted in all cases of de Quervain disease (thickening and edema of the
synovial sheath and fluid within the sheath). We conclude that
ultrasonography is able to confirm the clinical diagnosis of de Quervain
disease and may have a role in the follow-up of this disorder.
