The effectiveness of post-offer pre-placement nerve conduction screening for carpal tunnel syndrome

Details

• Personal Author:
  Dale, Ann M. ; Evanoff B ; Franzblau, Alfred ; Gardner BT ; Werner R ; Zeringue A
• Description:
  Objective: We evaluated post-offer pre-placement (POPP) nerve conduction studies (NCS) for carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), testing diagnostic yield and cost-effectiveness. Methods: A total of 1027 newly hired workers underwent baseline NCS and were followed for an average of 3.7 years for diagnosed CTS. Measures of diagnostic yield included sensitivity, specificity, and positive predictive value (PPV). Cost-effectiveness of POPP screening was evaluated using a range of inputs. Results: Abnormal NCS was strongly associated with future CTS with univariate hazard ratios ranging from 2.95 to 11.25, depending on test parameters used. Nevertheless, PPV was poor, 6.4% to 18.5%. Cost-effectiveness of POPP varied with CTS case costs, screening costs, and NCS thresholds. Conclusions: Although abnormal NCS at hire increases risk of future CTS, the PPV is low, and POPP screening is not cost-effective to employers in most scenarios tested. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Musculoskeletal Diseases Musculoskeletal System Nervous System Occupational Health Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Women
• Keywords:
  Carpal-tunnel-syndrome Exposure-levels Extremities Humans Injuries Musculoskeletal-system Musculoskeletal-system-disorders Nerve-damage Nerve-function Nerves Risk-factors Workers

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• ISSN:
  1076-2752
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Michigan ; Missouri ; OSHA Region 5 ; OSHA Region 7
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  56
• Issue:
  8
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20044833
• Citation:
  J Occup Environ Med 2014 Aug; 56(8):840-847
• Contact Point Address:
  Marie Dale, PhD, OTR/L, Department of General Medical Sciences, Washington University School of Medicine, Campus Box 8005, 660 S Euclid Ave, St Louis, MO 63110
• Email:
  adale@dom.wustl.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2014
• NORA Priority Area:
  Construction ; Manufacturing
• Performing Organization:
  Washington University - St. Louis, Missouri
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20040601
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
• End Date:
  20151231
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:ba12de65953a7a5d80d7e8da48b22e365465056b3a8fbdf56a6ea414aa0804811b36e5ff35f01f56f872ba8b300450b55dafc0fd06535a3e708da349dbc21045
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/200453/cdc_200453_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 132.48 KB ]