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

Prashant Kamble; Sameer Panchal; Rudra Prabhu; Himanshu Choudhury; Shubhranshu S Mohanty

doi:10.1007/s43465-022-00717-1

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

Indian J Orthop. 2022 Aug 16;56(10):1818-1823. doi: 10.1007/s43465-022-00717-1. eCollection 2022 Oct.

Authors

Prashant Kamble¹, Sameer Panchal², Rudra Prabhu³, Himanshu Choudhury⁴, Shubhranshu S Mohanty¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Orthopaedics, Seth GS Medical College and KEM Hospital, Mumbai, 400012 India.
² Department of Orthopaedics, Sir HN Reliance Foundation Hospital and Research Centre, Mumbai, 400004 India.
³ Department of Orthopaedics, Lokmanya Tilak Municipal Medical College, Sion, Mumbai, 400022 India.
⁴ Department of Radiology and Musculo-Skeletal Imaging, Sir HN Reliance Foundation Hospital and Research Centre, Mumbai, 400004 India.

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.

Keywords: Age; Gender; Indian population; MRI; Method of Perpendiculars; Ulnar variance; Wrist.

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