Usefulness of ultrasound for detecting suspected peripheral nerve lesions in diagnosis of peripheral neuropathy : case report and brief review of the literature

Ultrasound scanning of a peripheral nerve along its expected course is a simple and useful method for determining the cause of peripheral neuropathy. We present 3 cases of peripheral neuropathy in which the pathology was detected by simple ultrasound scanning of the affected nerve. There were 2 cases of entrapment neuropathy due to mucoid cyst and 1 case of nerve sheath tumor. All lesions were visualized by simple ultrasound scanning of the involved peripheral nerve. Our results suggest that if a lesion affecting the peripheral nerve is suspected after history and physical examination or electrophysiologic studies, ultrasound scanning of the peripheral nerve of interest throughout its course is very helpful for identifying the causative lesion.