What is the Role of Ultrasound in the Diagnosis of TOS?
Research type
Research Study
Full title
What is the prevalence of arterial thoracic outlet compression in the healthy population, and can Doppler ultrasound be used to effectively distinguish symptomatic individuals?
IRAS ID
235325
Contact name
Pranav Somaiya
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
N/A, N/A
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 5 months, 0 days
Research summary
Thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS) is defined by an external compression, and subsequent damage, of non-diseased blood vessels or nerves. TOS affects the arm and shoulder and can be due to many factors, such as genetics, bodybuilding or trauma. Patients are often young and otherwise healthy but can have a severely impaired quality of life due to the pain, and many other symptoms, that can be experienced when the arm is put into certain positions. Accurate evaluation of the clinical history is essential for diagnosis and clinical provocative tests, such as ultrasound, are of utmost importance. However, there is a high rate of false-positive results following these tests because even healthy people can experience symptoms and therefore the diagnosis is difficult. We aim to better define what constitutes a true-positive result of these tests by analysing the results of only healthy individuals.
REC name
London - London Bridge Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
18/LO/0526
Date of REC Opinion
13 Apr 2018
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion