Virtual touch tissue imaging quantification technique in evaluation of skeletal muscle hardness after injection of botulinum toxin type A for treatment of forearm pronation muscle spasm after stroke / 中国医学影像技术

ABSTRACT

Objective: To explore the value of virtual touch tissue imaging quantification (VTIQ) in evaluation on skeletal muscle hardness after injection of botulinum toxin type A for treatment of forearm pronation muscle spasm after stroke. Methods A total of 31 patients with forearm pronation muscle spasm after stroke were collected. VTIQ examinations were performed on bilateral pronator teres and pronator quadratus before and 1 month after ultrasound-guided injection of botulinum toxin type A. Shear wave velocity (SWV) was measured, and the differences between the affected side and the healthy side were compared before and after the treatment. The modified Ashworth scale (MAS) was used to evaluate the muscle tension of upper limb on the affected side before and after treatment, and the differences were compared, and the correlation with SWV was evaluated. Results: SWV of pronator teres of the affected side was higher than that of the healthy side before treatment (P=0.005). One month after treatment, there was no significant difference in SWV of the pronator teres and pronator quadratus between the affected side and healthy side (both P>0.05). SWV of the pronator teres and pronator quadratus on the affected side were lower after treatment than those before treatment (both P<0.05). The difference of MAS score of the affected upper limb before and after treatment were statistically significant (Z=-2.252, P=0.024). MAS score of upper limb on the affected side was positively correlated with SWV of the pronator teres on the affected side before and after treatment (rs=0.629, 0.653, both P<0.001). Conclusion: VTIQ can be used to dynamically observe muscle hardness of pronator teres and pronator quadratus in patients with spasm of forearm pronator after stroke, and quantitatively evaluate the curative effect of injection of botulinum toxin type A for treatment of forearm pronator muscle spasm after stroke.