Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Jan-Mar;21(1):43-48.
doi: 10.4103/aam.aam_74_20.

Normative data for ulnar nerve conduction and the influence of gender and height on ulnar nerve conduction velocity in healthy Nigerians

Lukman Femi Owolabi  1 , Abubakar Mohammed Jibo  2 , Aliyu Ibrahim  3 , Shakirah Desola Owolabi  4 , Baffa Adamu Gwaram  3 , Gerald Onwuegbuzie  5
Affiliations

Normative data for ulnar nerve conduction and the influence of gender and height on ulnar nerve conduction velocity in healthy Nigerians

Lukman Femi Owolabi et al. Ann Afr Med. 2022 Jan-Mar.

Abstract
in English, French

Background: Despite the usefulness of ulnar nerve conduction studies in identifying disorders of ulnar nerves, there is a lack of normative values for the ulnar nerve in Nigerian population.

Objective: The objective of the study was to generate normative values for motor and sensory ulnar nerve conduction studies (NCSs) in Nigerian population and to determine the influence of gender and height on ulnar nerve conduction velocity (NCV).

Materials and methods: A total of 200 healthy volunteers were selected after clinical evaluation to exclude common causes of ulnar neuropathy. We carried out NCS of ulnar nerves on all the healthy volunteers according to a standardized protocol. The NCS parameters included in the final analysis were amplitude, latency, NCV, and f-wave latency. Ethical approval was obtained for the study.

Results: The mean ulnar nerve sensory velocity was 55.22 ± 5.67 with 2.5 and 97.5 percentile of 46.9 and 70.1, respectively. The mean latency of the ulnar nerve (sensory) was 2.97 ± 0.62 with 2.5 and 97.5 percentile of 2.00 and 4.52, respectively. The mean amplitude of the ulnar nerve (sensory) was 35.56 ± 9.97 with 2.5 and 97.5 percentile of 15.9 and 57.7, respectively). The ulnar NCV was significantly (P = 0.0202) higher in male. Mild inverse correlation (r = 0.2) was found between ulnar NCV and height of the participants (P = 0.0089).

Conclusion: In the Nigerian population, normative values of motor and sensory ulnar nerve conduction parameters are similar to the existing values in the literature. The ulnar NCV appeared to be influenced by height and gender.

Résumé Contexte: Malgré l'utilité des études de conduction du nerf ulnaire pour identifier les troubles des nerfs ulnaire, il y a un manque de normative valeurs pour le nerf ulnaire dans la population nigériane. Objectif: L'objectif de l'étude était de générer des valeurs normatives pour les moteurs et études de conduction sensorielle du nerf ulnaire (NCS) dans la population nigériane et pour déterminer l'influence du sexe et de la taille sur le nerf ulnaire vitesse de conduction (NCV). Matériel et méthodes: Un total de 200 volontaires sains ont été sélectionnés après évaluation clinique pour exclure causes courantes de neuropathie ulnaire. Nous avons réalisé une NCS des nerfs ulnaire sur tous les volontaires sains selon un protocole standardisé.Les paramètres NCS inclus dans l'analyse finale étaient l'amplitude, la latence, la NCV et la latence de l'onde f. L'approbation éthique a été obtenue pour le étude. Résultats: La vitesse sensorielle moyenne du nerf ulnaire était de 55,22 ± 5,67 avec 2,5 et 97,5 percentile de 46,9 et 70,1, respectivement. La moyenne la latence du nerf ulnaire (sensoriel) était de 2,97 ± 0,62 avec 2,5 et 97,5 percentile de 2,00 et 4,52, respectivement. L'amplitude moyenne de l'ulnaire nerf (sensoriel) était de 35,56 ± 9,97 avec 2,5 et 97,5 percentile de 15,9 et 57,7, respectivement). Le NCV ulnaire était significativement (P = 0,0202)plus élevé chez les hommes. Une légère corrélation inverse (r = 0,2) a été trouvée entre la NCV ulnaire et la taille des participants (P = 0,0089). Conclusion: dans la population nigériane, les valeurs normatives des paramètres de conduction du nerf ulnaire moteur et sensoriel sont similaires aux valeurs existantes dans le Littérature. Le NCV ulnaire semble être influencé par la taille et le sexe. Mots-clés: Électromyographie, test de conduction nerveuse, Nigérians, normatif, nerf cubital.

Keywords: Electromyography; Nigerians; nerve conduction test; normative; ulnar nerve.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

None

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The distribution of ulnar nerve conduction parameters by gender
Figure 2
Figure 2
The best line of fit with 95% confidence interval of the relationship between ulnar motor conduction velocity and height
Figure 3
Figure 3
The best line of fit with 95% confidence interval of the relationship between ulnar sensory conduction velocity and height
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Benatar M, Wuu J, Peng L. Reference data for commonly used sensory and motor nerve conduction studies. Muscle Nerve. 2009;40:772–94. - PubMed
    1. Dy CJ, Mackinnon SE. Ulnar neuropathy: Evaluation and management. Curr Rev Musculoskelet Med. 2016;9:178–84. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Shivji Z, Jabeen A, Awan S, Khan S. Developing normative reference values for nerve conduction studies of commonly tested nerves among a sample Pakistani population. J Neurosci Rural Pract. 2019;10:178–84. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Hennessey WJ, Falco FJ, Braddom RL. Median and ulnar nerve conduction studies: Normative data for young adults. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 1994;75:259–64. - PubMed
    1. Falco FJ, Hennessey WJ, Braddom RL, Goldberg G. Standardized nerve conduction studies in the upper limb of the healthy elderly. Am J Phys Med Rehabil. 1992;71:263–71. - PubMed