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Prolonged median sensory latency as a predictor of future carpal tunnel syndrome
Author(s) -
Werner Robert A.,
Gell Nancy,
Franzblau Alfred,
Armstrong Thomas J.
Publication year - 2001
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/mus.1169
Subject(s) - mononeuropathy , carpal tunnel syndrome , asymptomatic , medicine , median nerve , surgery , carpal tunnel , peripheral neuropathy , endocrinology , diabetes mellitus
Abstract The purpose of the study was to determine whether abnormal median sensory nerve conduction among asymptomatic workers was predictive of future symptoms suggestive of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). This was a prospective study involving 77 workers who were identified as asymptomatic cases with electrodiagnostic findings of median mononeuropathy compared to an age‐ and sex‐matched control group. Follow‐up was completed an average of 70 months later, and subjects who reported pain, numbness, tingling, or burning in the distribution of the median nerve, based upon a hand diagram, were classified as having CTS symptoms. The follow‐up participation rate was 70%. Among subjects with abnormal median sensory latencies, 23% went on to develop symptoms consistent with CTS within the follow‐up period, compared with 6% in the control group ( P = .010). Age and hand repetition were also risk factors for CTS, but the majority of asymptomatic workers with a median mononeuropathy do not become symptomatic over an extended time. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Muscle Nerve 24: 1462–1467, 2001