A study of shape of ulnar nerve in leprosy patients

Background: The most common nerve affected in leprosy is ulnar nerve, which show enlargement and inflammation. Aims: To study shape of ulnar nerve (UN) in the cubital tunnel and to evaluate the role of high-resolution ultrasonography (HRUSG) in the diagnosis of ulnar nerve changes in leprosy. Methods: A total of 45 cases of clinically diagnosed leprosy patients with ulnar nerve involvement in the age group of 15-80 years constituted the subject material for present study. This was a cross sectional observational study with 90 arms from 45 patients (90 at cubital tunnel, 90 two centimetres above cubital tunnel). The ulnar nerves were evaluated with 12 MHz small footprint linear array transducer. The ulnar nerve shape was noted. Data analysis was done by using statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) Software. Results: The shape of ulnar nerve overall (including right and left) shows that majority of patient had oval shape ulnar nerve followed by round and other types. The shape of ulnar nerve is not changed statistically compared to normal. In some of patient due to trauma and other causes of nerve damage, shape had changed to flat or sometime triangular. Limitations: The authors required 1year to complete 45 consecutive leprosy patient but the patient has mean disease duration of 15 years. Conclusion: In 180 ulnar nerves which including ulnar nerve at ulnar notch and two centimetres above ulnar notch, 152 were oval while 14 were round, 7 were triangular and 7 were flattened. Keywords: Leprosy, Hansen’s Disease, Shape, Ulnar Nerve, High Resolution Ultrasonography. Key Messages: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the morphologic changes in the shape of ulnar nerve in leprosy with HRUSG