Tarsal tunnel syndrome in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, electrophysiological and ultrasound study

Background: Tarsal tunnel syndrome (TTS) is an entrapment neuropathy of the tibial nerve at the ankle. Rheumatoid arthritis is one of the systemic causes that has been responsible for TTS. Patients: In this study thirty feet of patients diagnosed as rheumatoid arthritis with complaints of burning pain or paresthesia on the plantar aspect of the foot and toes with 15 feet of age and sex matched control subjects were included. The aim of this study: To detect TTS among patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Methods: All patients included in this study were subjected to history taking, clinical examination (general and local), nerve conduction studies and ultrasonography of both tarsal tunnels. In this study, we detected the presence of TTS in rheumatoid arthritis patients group and none was found in the control group. Results: A total of 28 cases were confirmed as having TTS. In the patients group a strong statistically significant correlations were found between ultrasonographic and electrodiagnostic findings. Conclusion: So it is concluded that TTS is detected in patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis and that the use of both methods could lead to more reliable confirmed diagnosis which could lead to better management.