Does routine carpal tunnel release during fixation of distal radius fractures improve outcomes?

OBJECTIVE: This case-control study was designed to test the hypothesis whether carpal tunnel release (CTR) during fixation of distal radius 23-C2 AO fractures improves outcomes. METHODS: Thirty-five consecutive patients who sustained distal radius fractures of the dominant hand participated in this study. Patients were allocated into two groups: (a) The ORIF + CTR (16 patients (11 males and 5 females)); (b) the ORIF and NOT CTR 19 patients (12 males and 7 females). Patient assessment included visual analogic scale of pain (VAS), the subjective Mayo Wrist Score (MWS), electromyograms (EMG) at 3 month and 6 months from the day of injury and complications. All patients had the same physiotherapy treatment algorithm following surgery. Patient follow up took place at 1 month, 3, 6, and 12 months. RESULTS: A the T12 month follow up point the VAS average was 0.8 (range 0-3) in ORIF + CTR group compared to 1.2 (range 0-3) in the ORIF and NOT CTR. The MWS average was 98.7 (range 95-100) in ORIF + CTR group versus 97.6 (range 95-100) in ORIF no CTR group. There was no statistical significance (p > 0.5) between the two groups during the follow up period. Patients in the sixth month of ORIF + CTR had no suffering of the median nerve, while 31.58% of patients in ORIF and no CTR found to have carpal tunnel syndrome. CONCLUSIONS: Routine release of the transverse carpal ligament at the time of fracture fixation may reduce the incidence of postoperative median nerve dysfunction.

Reliability, Feasibility and Value of Ecography in Clinical-functional Results in Patients Affected by Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: is There a Correlation?

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to evaluate how the ultrasound examination in the carpal tunnel diagnosis could contribute to the clinical and neurophysiological evaluation. This was done by evaluating the cross-sectional area (CSA) and its correlation with symptoms and functionality data assessed by the BTQC questionnaire. METHODS: 60 patients were subjected to open CTR for idiopathic carpal tunnel syndrome. The median nerve CSA was assessed both pre-operatively and in follow-up at 4 and 12 weeks. The Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionanaire (BCTQ) was proposed at the same time. RESULTS: BCTQ score significantly improved after 4 weeks, but there was a less significant increase at 12 weeks for both the BCTQ-S and the BCTQ-F. The 4-week CSA, however, did not appear to have markedly improvement, where as the 12-week CSA turned out to be statistically significant. The correlation between BCTQ and CSA shows that post-surgery, the reduction of CSA of the median nerve is correlated with the symptomatic and functional reduction in patients. CONCLUSIONS: The study shows that the symptomatology and the functionality of the hand after surgery for the carpal tunnel resolves quickly. Furthermore, the reduction of the CSA proves to show that the use of ultrasound can help in the evaluation of patients with this state.