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Morphometric Analysis of Ulnar Variance and Its Demographic Dynamics Using High Resolution MRI: A Retrospective Study in Indian Population and Review of Literature

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Abstract

Background

Ulnar variance (UV) is the variation of the level of the distal articulating surface of the radius with respect to the distal articulating surface of the ulna. These variations either positive or negative can predispose to pathologies involving the wrist joint. The aim of this study was to measure the ulnar variance in a subset of Indian population using high-resolution MRI and compare our results with the existing literature.

Materials and Methods

Retrospective analysis of 100 normal wrist MRIs were done performed during November 2020 to November 2021 and the ulnar variance was calculated using the Method of Perpendiculars. All the MRI sequences were performed by an experienced radiologist with prior fixed protocol for the study. The measurements were done on the mid-coronal section based on the Method of Perpendiculars using Meddiff Rispacs software.

Results

The average age of the participants was 42 years, with Male to female ratio of 0.9:1. 47 MRIs were of the left wrist, while 53 MRIs were of the right wrist. The mean UV was − 0.7 mm (SD-0.175), ranging from − 4.5 mm to 3.5 mm. There was a significant relationship between ulnar-variance and age, as ulnar-variance increases with the age (p value = 0.039). There was no statistically significant correlation of ulnar-variance with gender distribution and handedness.

Conclusions

This study utilized high-resolution MRI for measuring ulnar-variance in a subset of Indian population and disclosed that the ulnar-variance affirms a positive correlation with age, while no specific pattern between the ulnar-variance and gender or handedness could be established.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to express gratitude towards the patients for allowing us to use the information for medical documentation and research purpose that led to the present article. There has been no contribution from any other person apart from the five mentioned authors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Orthopaedics, Seth GS Medical College and KEM Hospital, Mumbai, 400012, India

    Prashant Kamble & Shubhranshu S. Mohanty

  2. Department of Orthopaedics, Sir HN Reliance Foundation Hospital and Research Centre, Mumbai, 400004, India

    Sameer Panchal

  3. Department of Orthopaedics, Lokmanya Tilak Municipal Medical College, Sion, Mumbai, 400022, India

    Rudra Prabhu

  4. Department of Radiology and Musculo-Skeletal Imaging, Sir HN Reliance Foundation Hospital and Research Centre, Mumbai, 400004, India

    Himanshu Choudhury

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  1. Prashant Kamble
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  2. Sameer Panchal
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  4. Himanshu Choudhury
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  5. Shubhranshu S. Mohanty
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Contributions

SP: data curation/writing original draft. RMP: investigation/methodology. PK: conceptualization/Supervision. HC visualization/validation. SM: formal analysis. SP: revision and editing.

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Correspondence to Sameer Panchal.

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No benefits in any form have been received or will be received from a commercial party related directly or indirectly to the subject of this article. The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

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The Institutional Ethics Committee provided the approval for the study and data retrieval.

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Informed written consents were obtained for the collection and publication of retrospectively anonymized data for this non-interventional study.

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Kamble, P., Panchal, S., Prabhu, R. et al. Morphometric Analysis of Ulnar Variance and Its Demographic Dynamics Using High Resolution MRI: A Retrospective Study in Indian Population and Review of Literature. JOIO 56, 1818–1823 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43465-022-00717-1

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