Agreement Between Symptom Surveys, Physical Examination Procedures and Electrodiagnostic Findings for the Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Details

• Personal Author:
  Albers JW ; Armstrong TJ ; Bromberg MB ; Franzblau, Alfred ; Homan MM ; Werner RA
• Description:
  OBJECTIVES: The goal of this study was to evaluate the concordance between various clinical screening procedures for carpal tunnel syndrome. METHODS: The subject population consisted of 824 workers from 6 facilities. The evaluated procedures included bilateral sensory nerve conduction testing, physical examinations, and symptom surveys, including hand diagrams. The agreement between the outcomes of various combinations of these procedures was assessed by determining the kappa coefficient. RESULTS: There was relatively poor overlap between the reported symptoms, the physical examination findings, and the electrodiagnostic results consistent with carpal tunnel syndrome. Overall, only 23 out of 449 subjects (5%) with at least 1 positive finding met all 3 criteria (symptoms, physical examination findings, and electrophysiological results consistent with carpal tunnel syndrome) for the dominant hand. The screening procedures showed poor or no agreement with kappa values ranging between 0.00 and 0.18 for all the case definitions evaluated for carpal tunnel syndrome. CONCLUSIONS: The poor overlap between the various screening procedures warns against the use of electrodiagnostic findings alone without the symptom presentation being considered. The results of this study also point to a need for the further development and evaluation of methods for detecting carpal tunnel syndrome. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Aluminum Silicates Dust Men Mining Occupational Health Oil And Gas Industry Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Silicon Dioxide
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Carpal Compression Test Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Cumulative Trauma Cumulative Trauma Disorders Discomfort Survey Ergonomics Hand Diagrams Hand Injuries Kappa Coefficient Musculoskeletal System Musculoskeletal System Disorders Nerve Conduction Testing Phalen's Test Repetitive Work Surveillance Tinel's Test

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• ISSN:
  0355-3140
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Michigan ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  115-124
• Volume:
  25
• Issue:
  2
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20030018
• Citation:
  Scand J Work Environ Health 1999 Apr; 25(2):115-124
• Contact Point Address:
  Dr A Franzblau, Department of Environmental and Industrial Health, University of Michigan School of Public Health, 1420 Washington Heights, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2029, USA
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1999
• NORA Priority Area:
  Grants Other
• Performing Organization:
  University of Michigan, School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  19920901
• Source Full Name:
  Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health
• End Date:
  19960430
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:a66312dbc19f6de4642e53b9620a98fdda2a7ce8f8eea6361f1394d64d02e7c10176ea04edab5d56a1f26a73aafc3bc53d19a9dc4124175b14578b2d4dd13574
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/190877/cdc_190877_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 807.13 KB ]