Trapeziohamate Distance in Carpal Tunnel View as a Risk Factor for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Abstract

Background: Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is the most frequent entrapment syndrome of the upper limp, which leads to compression of the median nerve at the level of the wrist. Any early diagnosis based on the radiological and clinical findings is essential to find a risk factor preventing permanent nerve damage and functional sequelae. Objectives: The main aim of this study was to evaluate and determine trapeziohamate distance as a risk factor for incident CTS. Patients and Methods: The subjects in this case-control study were patients divided into an experimental group (n = 38) and control group (n = 23). Prospective study was conducted on 33 female and 5 male patients with CTS and 21 females and 2 males in control group. Subjects were selected from patients and their relatives who referred to our hand surgery department. In total, 61 subjects were examined. Gender and age as the personal factors, dominant hand, diabetes mellitus (DM), occupation and trapeziohamate distances were evaluated in all patients and control group. Mean values of trapeziohamate distance as a risk factor for experimental and control groups were measured. Levene’s test and Student’s t test were used to analyse the collected data using Statistical Package for Social Science. Results: The risk of CTS was higher in women and housekeeper. There was a significant difference between the two groups for trapeziohamate distance. The mean of trapeziohamate distance in control group (23.39) was significantly higher than the mean of experimental group (21.02). Conclusions: Our study confirmed that the incidence of CTS is higher in women and housekeeper and trapeziohamate distance is a dependent risk factor for the carpal tunnel syndrome.