Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and Trigger Finger. Sometimes Related

Abstract

Background: Carpal tunnel syndrome and trigger finger are common hand problems. Each can be a cause of pain and disability. Treatment for each diagnosis can be nonoperative or, when nonoperative treatment has failed and when symptoms warrant, treatment can be surgical. Carpal tunnel syndrome and trigger finger can present independently of each other, or, in some cases, both can be present in the same hand. Methods: Data was collected using PearlDiver proprietary software (PearlDiver, Inc, Colorado Springs, CO). This is a national data set from the United States representing 157 million distinct patients over the period from January 2010 to October 2021. PearlDiver was queried for all patients who underwent carpal tunnel release (represented by CTP-64721 for open carpal tunnel releases and CTP-29848 for endoscopic releases) and trigger finger release (represented by CTP-26055) on the same day. Results: Our search identified the number of carpal tunnel releases and the number of carpal tunnel releases + trigger finger release (same day). Carpal tunnel release + trigger finger release represent 8.4% of the total number of carpal tunnel release procedures. Conclusion: Patients who present with carpal tunnel syndrome may be advised that they are at increased risk of developing trigger fingers.