Two-Dimensional Ultrasound and Shear Wave Elastography in Infants With Late-Referral Congenital Muscular Torticollis

Application of ultrasonography in diagnosis and treatment of children with congenital muscular torticollis

Congenital muscular torticollis (CMT) is a more common childcare disease, which belongs to muscle-skeletal system diseases, and is more common in newborns. The disease is mainly due to congenital contracture due to chest locks, which leads to asymmetric head and neck. For such diseases, clear diagnosis and treatment in the early days is an important way to improve the prognosis of children. Compared with X-ray film, CT, and MRI, ultrasound examination has the advantages of low examination cost, short time, and no exposure to radiation during the examination. Moreover, ultrasound examination can provide an objective basis for the clinical diagnosis and prognosis evaluation of CMT children. This article reviews the latest research progress of conventional ultrasound, color Doppler ultrasound, and ultrasound elastography in the clinical diagnosis of CMT children and assisting in the formulation of treatment plans.

Evaluation of the Clinical Role of Strain Elastography in Patients Diagnosed With Congenital Torticollis

Objective:

The objective of this study was to determine the elasticity of sternocleidomastoid muscle (SCM) in patients with congenital muscular torticollis (CMT).

Methods:

In all, 41 patients and 22 controls were included in the study, and the elasticity of the patients’ SCM was measured. Echogenicity, thickness, and strain values of the SCM were also obtained.

Results:

The thickness and strain values of the SCM were higher in the patient group than in the control group ( P = .02 and P = .15). For median values, there was no difference in echogenicity and strain. In the strain elastography evaluation of the receiver operating curve (ROC) for muscle echogenicity in the isoechoic muscle group, the specificity and sensitivity were determined to be 100% and 22%, respectively, for the area under the curve (AOC) value of 0.558 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.424–0.6686), and the cutoff value was <1.4. In the hyperechoic muscle group, the ROC for AUC values was found to be 0.542 (95% CI, 0.411–0.6686), and the cutoff value was >1.4 with 100% sensitivity and 20.75 specificity.

Conclusions:

The strain elastography technique can be used in the diagnosis of CMT.