Durkan's test is a medical procedure to diagnose a patient with

carpal tunnel syndrome Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is the collection of symptoms and signs associated with median neuropathy at the carpal tunnel. Most CTS is related to idiopathic An idiopathic disease is any disease with an unknown cause or mechanism of apparen ...

. It is a new variation of Tinel's sign that was proposed by JA Durkan in 1991.

Process

Examiner presses thumbs over

carpal tunnel In the human body, the carpal tunnel or carpal canal is the passageway on the palmar side of the wrist that connects the forearm to the hand. The tunnel is bounded by the bones of the wrist and flexor retinaculum from connective tissue. Norma ...

and holds pressure for 30 seconds. An onset of pain or paresthesia in the median nerve distribution within 30 seconds is a positive result of the test.

Accuracy

In studies of diagnostic accuracy, the sensitivity of Durkan's test ranged from 87% to 91% and its specificity from 90% to 95%.

Comparison

Durkan's test is more sensitive than

Tinel's sign Tinel's sign (also Hoffmann-Tinel sign) is a way to detect irritated nerves. It is performed by lightly tapping ( percussing) over the nerve to elicit a sensation of tingling or " pins and needles" in the distribution of the nerve. Percussion is u ...

and Phalen maneuver.

References

{{Orthopedic examination , state=autocollapse Diagnostic neurology Physical examination