Sonographic evaluation of interdigital neuromas

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of sonography to accurately identify interdigital neuromas. Twenty patients, all complaining of interdigital neuroma type pain, underwent sonographic evaluation of the symptomatic intermetatarsal space and adjacent interspaces. Each patient subsequently had surgical exploration of the symptomatic site. Fourteen patients had sonographic evidence of neuromas which were confirmed surgically; one patient had sonographic evidence of a neuroma that was not confirmed surgically. The remaining five patients did not have sonographic or surgical evidence of neuroma in spite of clinical signs and symptoms. No adjacent neuromas were appreciated. The correlation of sonography and clinical measurements was determined using Pearson's product moment correlation coefficient (r = 0.804, p < 0.001). Measurements performed with ultrasound were highly correlated with surgical findings. The mean size (standard deviation) of neuromas identified with ultrasound and during surgical inspection was 5.35 mm. (1.36) and 5.43 mm. (1.04). Ultrasound demonstrated a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 83.3%. Ultrasound was able to accurately predict the presence, size, and location of Morton's neuromas.