scholarly journals The role of electrodiagnostic testing in carpal tunnel syndrome

1997 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. E4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lawrence H. Phillips ◽  
Vern C. Juel

Electrodiagnostic testing in patients who have upper-extremity symptoms, which may include carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), has been the gold standard for diagnosis for many years. Depite their value, these tests are underutilized. The authors examined the use patterns of electrodiagnostic testing at the University of Virginia by reviewing the records of the Electromyography Laboratory for the calendar year 1994. Studies in patients with CTS comprised 15% of the 1626 studies performed during that time. The mononeuropathy was mild in the majority of cases and most of the patients were referred for testing by specialists. There was a clear referral bias on the part of the primary care physicians, and the severity of mononeuropathy in the patients they referred for testing was significantly greater than in patients referred by specialists. The data indicate that electrodiagnostic testing has clear value in the evaluation of patients who have upper-extremity symptoms. Despite this fact, primary care physicians appear to underutilize electrodiagnostic testing.

QJM ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 114 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maha Mohamed Abdelraouf ◽  
Amal Ibrahim Ahmed ◽  
Nouran Abdelrahman Elghitany

Abstract Background Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is the most common nerve entrapment syndrome. It is caused by compression of the median nerve as it passes through the carpal tunnel in the wrist. The diagnosis of CTS is based on a combination of characteristic symptoms and electrophysiologic abnormalities. Electrodiagnostic testing (EDT) is uncomfortable for patients, time consuming and expensive. Objective To evaluate the role of greyscale and strain elastography ultrasound imaging in diagnosing patients with CTS and controls in comparison with nerve conductive studies. Patients and Methods Type of Study: Descriptive, prospective study. Study Setting: The study will be conducted at Ain Shams University Hospitals, Radiodiagnosis department. Study Period: 6 months. Study Population: Patients with carpal tunnel syndrome diagnosed clinically and underwent nerve conduction velocity study. Results In this study 7 wrists were diagnosed with mild CTS, 5 wrists demonstrated moderate CT, whereas only 3 wrists revealed severe CTS. The mean CSA would have increased if the number of cases with severe CTS had been higher. CSA of the median nerve has been reported to increase with the severity of entrapment. The cut off point of the average CSA to differentiate between cases and controls was found > 8 with sensitivity of 93.33%, specificity of 80% and area under curve (AUC) of 91.3% while the best cut off point for Elasto score was found > 1 with sensitivity of 86.6%, specificity of 80% and area under curve (AUC) of 93.3%. Conclusion We concluded that sonoelastography is a sensitive tool for prediction of CTS and it’s severity in correlation to NCV.


Hand Surgery ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 02 (01) ◽  
pp. 1-3
Author(s):  
Akihiko Asami ◽  
Tsu-Min Tsai ◽  
Beng-Hai Lim

2014 ◽  
Vol 96 (17) ◽  
pp. e148 ◽  
Author(s):  
John R. Fowler ◽  
Maria Munsch ◽  
Rick Tosti ◽  
William C. Hagberg ◽  
Joseph E. Imbriglia

2013 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 155-160 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. H. Song ◽  
H. S. Gong ◽  
K. J. Bae ◽  
J. H. Kim ◽  
K. P. Nam ◽  
...  

As carpal tunnel syndrome is more common in women, particularly around the menopause, female-related risk factors are suspected to play a role in its pathogenesis. We have assessed whether female hormone-related symptoms are associated with upper extremity disabilities in women undergoing carpal tunnel release. A total of 92 women with a mean age of 53 years scheduled for surgery for carpal tunnel syndrome were assessed preoperatively for female hormone-related symptoms using the menopausal rating scale and other female-related factors such as menopausal status, pregnancy number and serum female hormone levels. Upper extremity disability was evaluated using the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand (DASH) questionnaire. DASH scores had a moderate correlation with total menopausal rating scale scores, but not with other female-related factors assessed. This study suggests that female hormone-related symptoms are associated with subjective upper extremity disabilities in women with carpal tunnel syndrome. This information may be helpful in addressing patients’ complex symptoms or interpretation of outcomes in women with carpal tunnel syndrome.


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