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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Asian J Neurosurg 2017; 12(04): 670-673
DOI: 10.4103/ajns.AJNS_3_15
Original Article

Factors correlated with unfavorable outcome after carpal tunnel release surgery

Fakhr Fakhouri
Department of Surgery, Division of Neurosurgery, Aleppo University Hospital, Aleppo
,
Rana Alsukhni
1   Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Neurosurgery, Aleppo University Hospital, Aleppo
,
Bashar Altunbi
Department of Surgery, Division of Neurosurgery, Aleppo University Hospital, Aleppo
,
Zakaria Hawoot
1   Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Neurosurgery, Aleppo University Hospital, Aleppo
,
Rasha Dabbagh
2   Department of Laboratory Medicine, Aleppo University Hospital, Aleppo
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Objectives: Carpal tunnel release surgery has excellent results. The aim of this study was to identify which baseline clinical and demographic factors could predict a good outcome from surgery. Understanding the impact of prognostic factors will enable surgeons to indicate surgical intervention better, provide appropriate preoperative counseling, and manage expectations postoperatively. Materials and Methods: A prospective, observational study included 620 carpal tunnel syndrome patients (age 42.38 ± 11.18 years; mean ± standard deviation). After the diagnosis had been confirmed by electrodiagnostic studies, patients underwent open carpal tunnel release surgery. Patients were evaluated initially after 2 weeks and eventually after 6 months. Surgical outcome was compared with presurgical findings. Results: Response to surgery was good in 89.4% and 94.2% after 2 weeks and 6 months, respectively. Factors correlated significantly with unfavorable outcome of surgery included old age, longer duration of symptoms, negative Phalen's test, abnormal two-point discrimination test, and weakness of abductor pollicis brevis muscle. Gender, retrograde radiation, and nocturnal symptoms did not correlate with surgical outcome. Conclusion: Elderly patients with longstanding disease, neurological deficits, and negative Phalen's test may not respond to surgery as others. This should be kept in mind in preoperative counseling and postoperative expectations.

Key-words:

Carpal tunnel release - carpal tunnel syndrome - outcome - prognostic factors


Publication History

Article published online:
20 September 2022

© 2017. Asian Congress of Neurological Surgeons. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

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