Affiliations: Mount Sinai Medical Center Mount Sinai School of
Medicine, New York, NY, USA
Note: [] Address for correspondence: George Piligian, M.D., M.P.H., Mount
Sinai-Irving J. Selikoff Center for Occupational & Environmental Medicine,
Mount Sinai Medical Center, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, One Gustave L. Levy
Place, New York, NY 10029-6574, USA. Tel.: +1 212 241 5555; Fax: +1 212 241
5658; E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract: Objective: This case series sought to determine the prevalence of
ulnar neuropathy at the elbow (UNE) by using electrophysiologic criteria among
all computer keyboard operators (CKOs) referred over a four-year period
(1995–1999) for electrodiagnosis (EDX) due to clinical suspicion of focal
upper limb neuropathies. Participants: All CKOs referred to an EDX laboratory for suspicion
of focal upper limb neuropathies primarily from private practice physicians,
mostly hand surgeons, and an occupational medicine clinic. Methods: All 148 CKOs underwent NCV studies of the upper limbs,
which included segmental studies of the ulnar nerve and were questioned for the
presence and distribution pattern of paresthesias in the symptomatic upper
limb(s). The CKOs provided the electromyographer with subjective descriptions
of their workstation configuration, layout, and basic office equipment. Results: Focal ulnar neuropathy at the elbow (UNE) was identified in
105 out of 148 CKOs referred to an EDX laboratory for clinical suspicion of
upper limb focal neuropathies. Conclusions: Compared with the more prevalent diagnosis of carpal
tunnel syndrome (CTS), ulnar neuropathy at the elbow should also be considered
among CKOs referred for EDX testing because of suspicion of focal upper limb
neuropathies. Clinicians evaluating CKOs for suspicion of focal upper limb
neuropathies should routinely ask about symptoms of ulnar neuropathy.
Keywords: Ulnar neuropathy at the elbow, computer keyboard operators, cubital tunnel syndrome
