The Relation of Comorbidities with Outcomes of Carpal Tunnel Release Surgery

Objective: Systemic diseases negatively affect carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). Therefore, it is logical to hypothesize that systemic diseases may also be related to poor post-operative outcomes. Herein, the authors aimed to address the relationship between systemic diseases and carpal tunnel release outcomes. Methods: Cases with carpal tunnel release were grouped and compared regarding to presence or absence of systemic diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes mellitus, hypothyroidism, obesity, and hypertension. In this study, 48 cases were included (24 with and 24 without systemic diseases). The Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire was used to evaluate the symptoms and functions in cases. Its higher scores indicate more negative symptoms and functional capacity. Results: The groups with and without systemic diseases exhibited similarity in age and gender scores. Given symptoms and functions, cases with systemic diseases had significantly higher pre- and post-operative scores than cases without systemic diseases. In both groups, the scores from post-operative period were significantly lower than those in the pre-operative period (p<0.001). However, the groups exhibited similarity in mean difference in symptom and function scores between pre- and post-operative periods. Also, there were significant positive correlations between pre- and post-treatment scores. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that systemic diseases are negatively associated with poor pre- and post-operative outcomes in CTS. These findings may contribute to more realistic post-operative expectations.