Reliability of Quantitative Assessment of Distal Radioulnar Joint Stability With Force‐Monitor Ultrasonography

摘要

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to evaluate the reliability of ultrasound assessment of the displacementforce relationships for distal radioulnar joint (DRUJ) stability. Nondominant wrists of 10 healthy male subjects were evaluated by forcemonitor ultrasonography. This apparatus was developed to apply cyclic compression to the wrist with predetermined transducer displacement conditions in the range of 0.13.0 mm. The subject's wrist was placed on the table with the forearm in the pronated position. The transducer was placed on the dorsal surface of the distal radius and ulna, perpendicular to the long axis of the forearm. The center of the ulnar head was at the DRUJ level. The distance between the dorsal surface of the distal radius and the ulnar head was measured at an initial and a presseddown position. Changes in radioulnar displacement, force to the wrist and the displacement/force ratio were evaluated. The measurements were performed independently by two raters. The intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) for the radioulnar displacement were 0.76, 0.68, and 0.93, in the 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0 mm transducer displacement conditions, respectively. The ICCs for the force to the wrist were 0.18, 0.67, and 0.34, in different transducer displacement conditions, respectively. The ICCs for the displacement/force ratios were 0.68, 0.67, and 0.97, in different transducer displacement conditions, respectively. The highest ICC for the radioulnar displacement and the displacement/force ratio was observed in the 3.0 mm displacement condition. This assessment of displacementforce relationships may be useful to quantify DRUJ stability. ?2019 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 37:20532060, 2019