A systematic review of diagnostic performance of quantitative tests to assess musculoskeletal disorders in hand-arm vibration syndrome

Abstract

The purpose was to systematically review the published reports for the clinical utility of quantitative objective tests commonly used for diagnosing musculoskeletal disorders in hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS). Two reviewers independently conducted a computerized literature search in PubMed and Scopus using predefined criteria, and relevant papers were identified. The articles were screened in several stages and considered for final inclusion. Quality of the selected papers was evaluated by a modified QUADAS tool. Relevant data were extracted as necessary. For this review, only 4 relevant studies could be identified for detailed examination. Grip strength, pinch strength, and Purdue pegboard tests were commonly used with their reported sensitivity and specificity ranging between 1.7 to 65.7% and 65.2 to 100%, 1.7 to 40% and 94 to 100%, and 44.8 to 85% and 78 to 95%, respectively. A considerable difference across the studies was observed with respect to patient and control populations, diagnostic performance and cut-off values of different tests. Overall, currently available English-language limited literature do not provide enough evidence in favour of the application of grip strength and pinch strength tests for diagnosing musculoskeletal injuries in HAVS; Purdue pegboard test seems to have some diagnostic value in evaluating impaired dexterity in HAVS.

Associations between Physical Factors and Working Conditions and Occupational Injuries among Korean Workers

“…고온 및 저온 영역에서는 14.2~37.7℃에서 1℃ 상승할수록 직업성 손상 발생이 0.2%씩 증가한 다고 보고하였으며, -0.8℃ 이하에서 1℃씩 감소할 때마다 실외 직업성 손상은 2.3% 증가한다고 보고 하였다 (Morabito et al, 2014;Xiang et al, 2014 (Mahbub et al, 2015). 남성 근로자 81,346명을 대상으로 한 소음 추적연 구에서 상승된 청력 역치를 가진 90 dB 초과하는 소 음에 노출되는 근로자들은 정상 청력의 90 dB 미만 의 소음수준에 노출되는 근로자들에 비해 사고 발생 위험이 40%나 더 높게 나타났다 (Girard et al, 2004).…”

Prevalence of hand-arm vibration syndrome among tyre shop workers in Kelantan, Malaysia

“…Of all the three components of HAVS, the musculoskeletal component is less well defined and less studied. The association between vibration exposure and musculoskeletal outcomes, despite having been reported, is still unclear due to the strong confounding effect of other ergonomic stressors related to manual work . About half of the workers complained of having symptoms of a musculoskeletal component of HAVS complications.…”

Working hand syndrome

“…In HAVS, the peripheral and central nervous systems are affected, [ 5 ] which can lead to vascular, bone and joint, and tendon and muscle diseases. [ 9 , 10 ] There is a direct correlation between the disease and the magnitude and duration of hand-arm vibration and cold temperatures. [ 11 ] In the cases here in, no vibrating tools were used by the patients, but they did engage in taxing labor using their hands (using such tools as a sledgehammer, hammer, saw, and carry stones).…”