Electric diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome: About 93 cases

Objectives Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is a common clinical condition caused by entrapment of the median nerve (MN) at the flexor retinaculum of the wrist. A nerve conduction study (NCS) is one of the most sensitive and specific tools for diagnosing CTS. The purpose of our study is to determine epidemiological, clinical and various electrophysiological profiles of patients with CTS. Methods We collected the results of NCS of patients who had been addressed to the unit of electrophysiology in our department, for a period of one year, for clinically suspected CTS and we reviewed medical records of these patients. Results The sex ratio was 0.15. All patients presented acroparesthesia. All patients were right handed. CTS was bilateral and symmetrical in 15.5% of cases, bilateral and asymmetric in 16.3%, MN injury was present only in one side in 30.9%. NCS was normal for the rest. Axonal loss was noted in 38.8%. The correlation study showed that the presence of diabetes was associated with CTS severity and axonal loss. The severity of CTS and axonal loss were not correlated with duration of clinical progression and age of patients. Conclusion There was no correlation between clinical severity and electrophysiological profile witch can probably explain the discordance between preoperative electrophysiology scores of severity and postoperative recovery.