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Symptoms of 100 patients with electromyographically verified carpal tunnel syndrome
Author(s) -
Stevens J. Clarke,
Smith Benn E.,
Weaver Amy L.,
Bosch E. Peter,
Deen H. Gordon,
Wilkens James A.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
muscle and nerve
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.025
H-Index - 145
eISSN - 1097-4598
pISSN - 0148-639X
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-4598(199910)22:10<1448::aid-mus17>3.0.co;2-y
Subject(s) - medicine , carpal tunnel syndrome , wrist , median nerve , nerve conduction , surgery , electromyography , carpal tunnel , carpal tunnel release , upper limb , physical medicine and rehabilitation
To determine the symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), screening evaluations were performed in 244 consecutive patients with sensory symptoms in the hand and unequivocal slowing of median nerve conduction at the wrist. This yielded 100 patients thought to have no explanation other than CTS for their upper limb complaints. These patients completed a hand symptom diagram (HSD) and questionnaire (HSQ) about their symptoms. CTS symptoms were most commonly reported in median and ulnar digits, followed by median digits only and a glove distribution. Unusual sensory patterns were reported by some patients. Based on the HSQ, paresthesias or pain proximal to the wrist occurred in 36.5% of hands. The usefulness of the HSD and HSQ for diagnosis was determined by asking three physicians, blinded to the diagnosis, to rate the likelihood of CTS in the patients with CTS and in 50 patients with other causes of upper extremity paresthesia. The sensitivities of the instruments ranged from 54.1% to 85.5%. Combining the HSD and HSQ ratings increased the range of sensitivities to 79.3% to 93.7%. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Muscle Nerve 22: 1448–1456, 1999