Importance of Recognizing Carpal Tunnel Syndrome for Neurosurgeons: A Review

Current Insights into Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: Clinical Strategies for Prevention and Treatment

BACKGROUND

Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is a condition that is caused by medial nerve compression, resulting in symptoms such as numbness, tightness, or weakness in the hand.

OBJECTIVES

The aim of the study was to find out the genetic modulation, mechanism, available treatment, and recommendation for carpal tunnel syndrome at its specific stage.

METHODS

Almost 200 papers were searched for this review article, and 145 articles were selected. The literature was collected from different sources like Google scholar, PubMed, a directory of open-access journals, and science.gov by using keywords, such as treatment, risk factors, recommendation, and clinical features of carpal tunnel syndrome.

RESULTS

The most efficient non-surgical treatment is methylprednisolone acetate, which reduces inflammation by acting on the glucocorticoid receptor in conjunction with immunofilling. It has also been used successfully as a second-line drug for the treatment of patients with mild or moderate conditions in order to provide relief. New non-pharmacological options include laser therapy in acupuncture, transcutaneous electric nerve stimulation (TENS), and sham therapy. Modern treatments like TENS, laser therapy, splints, and injections of methylprednisolone acetate have been demonstrated to be helpful in sporadic situations. For patients with mild and moderate problems, more research should be conducted that includes the combination of these surgical and non-surgical treatments.

CONCLUSION

We propose a multifunctional panel construct and define standard data items for future research into carpal tunnel syndrome. A discussion on idiopathic carpal tunnel syndrome, risk factors, combination of therapies, using guidelines-based recommendations and treatment should be initiated.

Efficiency of therapeutic underwater ultrasound therapy in mild-to-moderate carpal tunnel syndrome: A randomized sham-controlled study

Objectives

This study aimed to evaluate the efficiency of therapeutic pulsed ultrasound (US) applied underwater in mild-to-moderate carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS).

Patients and methods

This randomized, placebo-controlled study included 75 patients (114 hands; 7 males, 68 females; mean age: 46.7±9.9 years; range, 24 to 64 years) diagnosed with CTS through clinical evaluation and electroneuromyography (ENMG) results between March 2012 and January 2013. Patients were randomized into three groups. Group 1 received underwater pulsed US, Group 2 received sham US, and Group 3 was the control group. All groups were given night splints. Patients were evaluated at baseline, at the end of treatment (two weeks), and 12 weeks after the treatment using clinical examination tests (Tinel, Phalen, and hand elevation test), hand grip strength, Visual Analog Scale (VAS) for pain, Pain Quality Assessment Scale (PQAS), and ENMG.

Results

In all groups, a significant improvement was detected in the clinical assessment parameters, including the pain VAS, PQAS scores, physical examination outcomes, and hand grip strength. The decrease in VAS score and PQAS was found to be superior in the pulsed US group at both two weeks after the treatment and at the 12th week after the treatment compared to the sham US and control groups (p<0.001). Improvement in ENMG parameters, such as median motor latency, median sensorial velocity, and median sensory latency, was observed only in the underwater pulsed US group (p<0.001).

Conclusion

Therapeutic underwater pulsed US is an effective, safe, and easy-to-apply treatment option in the conservative treatment of mild-to-moderate CTS.

High-resolution neuromuscular ultrasound-based diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome in a sample of Egyptian population

Background

Carpal tunnel syndrome is the commonest entrapment neuropathy. The cut-off point of cross-sectional area to diagnose carpal tunnel syndrome may vary among populations. The objective of this study was to determine the best cut-off point of median nerve cross-sectional area to diagnose carpal tunnel syndrome among Egyptian population and to compare the difference of median nerve cross-sectional area in diabetic patients versus healthy individuals.

Results

Mean cross-sectional area was 7.78 ± 1.260 mm2 among healthy individuals and 8 ± 1.018 mm2 among diabetics. Cut-off cross-sectional area of median nerve above which compression is anticipated is 9.5 mm2.

Conclusion

Ultrasound can be used to diagnose carpal tunnel syndrome by measuring the median nerve cross-sectional area.

Does diabetes mellitus change the carpal tunnel release outcomes? Evidence from a systematic review and meta-analysis

STUDY DESIGN

A systematic review and meta-analysis.

INTRODUCTION

Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is one of the most common upper extremity conditions which mostly affect women. Management of patients suffering from both CTS and diabetes mellitus (DM) is challenging, and it was suggested that DM might affect the diagnosis as well as the outcome of surgical treatment.

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

This meta-analysis was aimed to compare the response with CTS surgical treatment in diabetic and nondiabetic patients.

METHODS

Electronic databases were searched to identify eligible studies comparing the symptomatic, functional, and neurophysiological outcomes between diabetic and nondiabetic patients with CTS. Pooled MDs with 95% CIs were applied to assess the level of outcome improvements.

RESULTS

Ten articles with 2869 subjects were included. The sensory conduction velocities in the wrist-palm and wrist-middle finger segments showed a significantly better improvement in nondiabetic compared with diabetic patients (MD = -4.31, 95% CI = -5.89 to -2.74, P < .001 and MD = -2.74, 95% CI = -5.32 to -0.16, P = .037, respectively). However, no significant differences were found for the improvement of symptoms severity and functional status based on the Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire and Quick Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand questionnaire as well as motor conduction velocities and distal motor latencies.

CONCLUSION

Metaresults revealed no significant difference in improvements of all various outcomes except sensory conduction velocities after CTS surgery between diabetic and nondiabetic patients. A better diabetic neuropathy care is recommended to achieve better sensory recovery after CTS surgery in diabetic patients.

Analysis of the Long-Term Outcome in Open Carpal Tunnel Release Surgeries with and without External Neurolysis of Median Nerve, Using Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire (BCTQ)-Hindi Version

Background  The effectiveness of open carpal tunnel release (OCTR) in treating carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is well known. However, the role of ancillary external neurolysis of the median nerve is not well-documented. The Boston carpal tunnel questionnaire (BCTQ) is a commonly used disease-specific outcome instrument for CTS, which is validated across major languages of the world. No such validated Hindi version of BCTQ exists.

Objectives  To analyze and compare the long-term outcome in patients who underwent OCTR alone and OCTR with external neurolysis of the median nerve, using BCTQ–Hindi version, while checking its validity.

Materials and Methods  A retrospective, cross-sectional study was conducted at a tertiary care institute. The BCTQ was translated into Hindi language by a language expert. Eighty-four consecutive patients who underwent either unilateral/bilateral OCTR, with or without external neurolysis of the median nerve, between 2009 and 2019 were included in the study. Outcome analysis was done using BCTQ–Hindi version and patient satisfaction scoring. BCTQ–Hindi version was examined for statistical validity. Subgroup analysis of the outcome based on surgical technique (OCTR vs. OCTR with external neurolysis) used was carried out.

Results  Response rate was 80.9%. Total hands evaluated were 108. BCTQ–Hindi version showed statistical validity. Overall symptom severity score (SSS) and functional severity score (FSS) were 1.14 ± 0.4 and 1.12 ± 0.35, respectively. Subgroup analysis of outcome revealed statistically significant results in favor of OCTR with external neurolysis of the median nerve.

Conclusions  BCTQ–Hindi version is statistically validated. OCTR with external neurolysis of the median nerve is a promising avenue in surgical management of CTS. Further prospective studies are warranted.

Occurrence of Trigger Finger Following Carpal Tunnel Release

Surgical treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) was recently started in our department, and we noticed that the development of trigger finger (TF), with which neurosurgeons are generally unfamiliar, is not rare after such treatment. We summarized the clinical and pathogenetic aspects of TF and retrospectively analyzed the medical records of all 39 patients who underwent CTR in our department to investigate the occurrence of TF. In 39 patients with CTS, 46 surgical interventions were performed in our department. All surgical procedures were carried out by open release of the transverse carpal ligament under local anesthesia infiltration, but the distal forearm fascia was not released. The mean postoperative follow-up period was 21.1 ± 16.8 months. TF after CTR occurred in nine hands of eight patients (9 of 46 hands, 19.6%). The mean interval between CTR and TF onset was 5.3 ± 2.8 months. TF after surgical treatment of CTS is not rare; therefore, surgeons who treat CTS should understand the clinical features of TF and carefully assess affected patients, particulary at presentation and within 6 months postoperatively.

A comparative study of the dose-dependent effects of low level and high intensity photobiomodulation (laser) therapy on pain and electrophysiological parameters in patients with carpal tunnel syndrome

BACKGROUND

Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is a common peripheral nerve disorder of the wrist. Nonsurgical treatments e.g. laser therapy may cause potential beneficial effects.

AIM

To compare the dose dependent effects of low level laser therapy (LLLT) and high intensity laser therapy (HILT) on pain and electrophysiology studies in patients with CTS.

DESIGN

Double-blind randomized controlled trial.

SETTING

Outpatient physiotherapy clinic.

POPULATION

Ninety-eight participants with CTS, aged between 20 to 60 years, were randomly assigned to five groups.

METHODS

All participants undertook four standard exercises, with one group serving as exercise-only controls. Patients were randomly allocated to either high or low fluence LLLT or high or low fluence HILT received over 5 sessions. All patients were assessed by visual analogue scale, median compound muscle action potential (CMAP) and sensory nerve conduction studies before and 3 weeks after the interventions.

RESULTS

VAS was significantly lower in all groups after 3 weeks (P<0.05). CMAP latency decreased in all groups. The interaction of group and time (5×2) was significant for pain (P<0.001), the latency of CMAP (P=0.001) and CMAP amplitude (P=0.02). The interaction of group and time was not significant for the CMAP conduction velocity, sensory nerve latency and amplitude (P>0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

HILT with a power of 1.6 W and low fluence of 8 J/cm² was superior in reduction of pain and improvement of the median motor nerve electrophysiological studies compared to LLLT and exercise-only control groups.

CLINICAL REHABILITATION IMPACT

LLLT and HILT in conjunction with exercise program are effective in reducing pain and improving median motor nerve conduction studies of the patients with CTS. It seems that high power and low fluence laser therapy is better than LLLT and exercise interventions to treat these patients.