Effects of Varying Case Definition on Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Prevalence Estimates in a Pooled Cohort

Details

• Alternative Title:
  Arch Phys Med Rehabil
• Personal Author:
  Thiese, Matthew S. ; Gerr, Fred ; Hegmann, Kurt T. ; Harris-Adamson, Carisa ; Dale, Ann Marie ; Evanoff, Bradley ; Eisen, Ellen A. ; Kapellusch, Jay ; Garg, Arun ; Burt, Susan ; Bao, Stephen ; Silverstein, Barbara ; Merlino, Linda ; Rempel, David
• Description:
  Objective
  
  To analyze differences in carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) prevalence using a combination of electrodiagnostic studies (EDSs) and symptoms using EDS criteria varied across a range of cutpoints and compared with symptoms in both ≥1 and ≥2 median nerve–served digits.
  
  Design
  
  Pooled data from 5 prospective cohorts.
  
  Setting
  
  Hand-intensive industrial settings, including manufacturing, assembly, production, service, construction, and health care.
  
  Participants
  
  Employed, working-age participants who are able to provide consent and undergo EDS testing (N=3130).
  
  Interventions
  
  None.
  
  Main Outcome Measures
  
  CTS prevalence was estimated while varying the thresholds for median sensory latency, median motor latency, and transcarpal delta latency difference. EDS criteria examined included the following: median sensory latency of 3.3 to 4.1 milliseconds, median motor latency of 4.1 to 4.9 milliseconds, and median-ulnar sensory difference of 0.4 to 1.2 milliseconds. EDS criteria were combined with symptoms in ≥1 or ≥2 median nerve–served digits. EDS criteria from other published studies were applied to allow for comparison.
  
  Results
  
  CTS prevalence ranged from 6.3% to 11.7%. CTS prevalence estimates changed most per millisecond of sensory latency compared with motor latency or transcarpal delta. CTS prevalence decreased by 0.9% to 2.0% if the criteria required symptoms in 2 digits instead of 1.
  
  Conclusions
  
  There are meaningful differences in CTS prevalence when different EDS criteria are applied. The digital sensory latency criteria result in the largest variance in prevalence.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Adult Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Construction Industry Electrodiagnosis Female Health Care Sector Humans Male Manufacturing Industry Median Nerve Middle Aged Occupational Injuries Prevalence Reaction Time Ulnar Nerve

  More +
• Keywords:
  Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Diagnostic Techniques And Procedures Rehabilitation Standards
• Source:
  Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2014; 95(12):2320-2326
• Pubmed ID:
  25175160
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC4342110
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Funding:
  R01-OH009712/OH/NIOSH CDC HHSUnited States/ ; T42/CCT810426-10/PHS HHSUnited States/ ; UL1 RR024992/RR/NCRR NIH HHSUnited States/ ; UL1 TR000448/TR/NCATS NIH HHSUnited States/ ; R01 OH009712/OH/NIOSH CDC HHSUnited States/
• Volume:
  95
• Issue:
  12
• Collection(s):
  CDC Public Access
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:b5be3298aacefd9fe79cfb6cfccb89d0587ea9bc77db8a7a45035ea87c99f1db
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/30305/cdc_30305_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 286.03 KB ]