ETIOLOGY OF CARPAL TUNNEL SYNDROME

Aim:Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is the most common entrapment neuropathy resulting from compression of the median nerve at the wrist level. Increased intercarpal canal pressure plays an important role in the etiology of CTS. Although most cases are idiopathic, there may also be some systemic or local causes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the demographic and etiological characteristics of patients with CTS who applied to our electroneuromyography (ENMG) laboratory within 3 months. Material and Methods:One hundred forty-nine patients (=298 hands) who were sent to our ENMG laboratory for ENMG evaluation and diagnosed with CTS were included in our study. Cases with cervical vertebral root lesions, thoracic outlet syndrome, polyneuropathy, trauma such as nerve injury, and cases with tumors and secondary CTS to pregnancy were excluded from the study. Results:One hundred six (71.1%) of the cases in our study were women and 43 (28.9%) were men. The average age of the patients was 54.27±13.10, and the body mass index (BMI) was 27.92±3.98. BMI ≥30 was found in 47 (31.5%) of the patients. In our study, we found that housewives were the occupational group with the highest risk in terms of CTS (n=94, 63.1%). In this study, we found bilateral hand involvement in 93 (62.4%) patients. The most common condition was idiopathic CTS (n=81, 54.6%). Conclusion:CTS is more common in postmenopausal women who work as housewives and is usually seen in the dominant hand. It was concluded that this study would be useful for the diagnosis of CTS.