Prevalence of Morton neuroma diagnosed by ultrasonography in a reference clinic in Goiânia-GO, Brazil in the year 2017

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: To demonstratc To demonstrate the prevalence of Morton’s neuroma diagnosed by ultrasonography in 2017 at a reference clinic in Goiânia-Goiás and the quality concerning this diagnostic exam. METHODS: A cross-sectional retrospective survey in which 861 shoulder ultrasound examinations were performed between January and December 2017 in patients of both sexes. RESULTS: Morton’s neuroma was present in 228 exams. Concerning these results, 85.6% were women and 14.4% were men. The average of age of the patients was 56.6 years. 74 people had lesions on the right foot, 88 on the left foot and 116 had bilateral lesions. Regarding location, 25.9% had neuroma in the second intermetatarsal space, 42.1% in the third space and 39.9% in the second and third space simultaneously. When correlated to Morton metatarsalgia with other pathologies, 67 patients also had intermetatarsal bursitis, 21 had halux valgus and 85 had plantar fasciitis. No injuries were reported in the minor round. CONCLUSION: Ultrasonography is a reliable and interesting method when it comes to the diagnosis of Morton’s neuroma. There was a high prevalence of this type of lesion on ultrasonography (32.28% of foot exams performed in 12 months), with a greater involvement of women. The most affected site was the third intermetatarsal space and in relation to the most affected foot, bilateral involvement predominates.