CLINICAL PROFILE OF PATIENTS WITH CARPAL TUNNEL SYNDROME

OBJECTIVE: To determine the clinical features and demography of patients with carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). METHODS: This descriptive cross-sectional study was done on 250 (210 females and 40 males) patients in Neurosurgery Department, Naseer Teaching Hospital, Peshawar from 1st January 2015 to 31st December 2016. All patients with ≥1 clinical feature of median nerve compression at carpal tunnel level were included while patients who underwent any type of intervention of the median nerve at carpal tunnel level and those with known neurological disorder were excluded. Patients were reviewed for epidemiological data including age, gender, symptomatic side, dominance and neurophysiological grades according to American Association of Electrodiagnostic Medication. Data was analyzed by using SPSS version 20. RESULTS: Female to male ratio was 5.2:1. Mean age was 48.5±2.54 years in females and 50.5±5.85 years in males. CTS was most commonly seen in the age group of 46-60 years. Bilaterality was seen in 222 (88%). Mild form of CTS was the most common (n=126; 50.4%) followed by moderate (n=120; 48%), severe and very severe in only 1.6% of patients. Most frequent sensory symptoms observed were paraesthesia in 250 (100%), weakness in thenar eminence in 230 (92%), nocturnal pain in 225 (90%), pain after physical activity in 212(85%) cases. Common co-morbidities were diabetes in 80 (32%) and hypothyroidism in 35 (12%) cases. CONCLUSION: Predominant age group was 46-60 years with female predominance. Bilaterality with sensory symptoms like paraesthedias, weakness at thenar eminences, nocturnal and daytime pain were commonly observed