Prevalence of Absence of Palmaris Longus Tendon in a Population Sample from a Multiethnic Brazilian City^[*]

Abstract

Objective The objective of the study was to determine the prevalence of absence of palmaris longus tendon in a population sample from a multiethnic Brazilian city.

Methods A cross-sectional observational study was carried out between October 2017 and April 2018. We included male and female volunteers aged 18 years or older. The absence of palmaris longus tendon was determined by asking the volunteers to perform the Schaeffer test bilaterally.

Results We prospectively collected data on 1,008 volunteers, 531 male and 477 female, with age between 18 and 74 years (mean 38.4 years). The absence of palmaris longus tendon was observed in 264 (26.2%) volunteers. Bilateral absence was detected in 123 volunteers (12.2%), 60 female (48.8%) and 63 male (51.2%). Unilateral absence was found in 141 patients (14.0%), 54 female (38.2%) and 87 male (61.8%) (p < 0.05).

Conclusion The prevalence of absence of palmaris longus tendon in our study was 26.2%. There was no statistically significant difference between gender and bilaterally. The absence of palmaris longus tendon was predominant on unilateral right side in males.

Keywords

prevalence - tendons - hand deformities, congenital

Authors' Contributions:

Each author contributed individually and significantly to the development of this article: D. P. K., L. M. M. and C. H. F. researched the literature and conceived the study. D. P. K., L. M. M. and F. F. were involved in protocol development and gaining ethical approval. D. P. K., J. B. G. S. and F. F. did the data analysis. C. H. F., D. P. K. and L. R. N. wrote the first draft of the manuscript. All authors reviewed and edited the manuscript and approved the final version of the manuscript

Financial Support

The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

^* Study developed at the Escola Paulista de Medicina, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.

Publikationsverlauf

Eingereicht: 28. Juni 2022

Angenommen: 04. Oktober 2022

Artikel online veröffentlicht:
08. Dezember 2023

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