• Jun Shen, Fangjing Yang, Weimin Chen, Fei Wang, Chunmin Liang, Yanqun Qiu, and Wendong Xu.
• Department of Hand Surgery, Huashan Hospital, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
• Injury. 2021 Mar 1; 52 (3): 516-523.

IntroductionUltrasound has been commonly employed for depicting the morphology of the lesions in patients with radial nerve neuropathy, including entrapment, tumor, trauma, and iatrogenic injury. However, few studies have evaluated the efficacy of ultrasound for visualizing radial nerve lesions with coexistent plate fixation of humeral shaft fractures. This study aimed to address this special clinical issue.MethodsWe retrospectively examined the efficacy of ultrasound for visualizing radial nerve lesions with coexistent plate fixation of humeral shaft fractures based on intraoperative findings in patients who were treated in our hospital from January 2007 to June 2019.ResultsForty-six patients were included, and there was a 100% concordance between the ultrasound and intraoperative findings on radial nerve lesions. Ultrasonography revealed four types of lesions: radial nerve in continuity in thirty-one patients, neuroma in continuity in four patients, radial nerve stuck under the plate in three patients, and radial nerve transection in eight patients. The lesion radial nerve in continuity comprised two situations according to intraoperative electrodiagnostic test results, which could not be differentiated by ultrasonography, radial nerve in continuity treated with neurolysis in twenty-five patients and radial nerve in continuity treated with nerve graft in six patients.ConclusionUltrasonography can accurately depict radial nerve lesions with coexistent plate fixation of humeral shaft fractures. It provides a basis for determining the extent of nerve damage in all patients except those with the lesion radial nerve in continuity, which is conducive to making treatment decisions as early as possible.Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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