Does electrodiagnostic evidence correlate with mood and function in patients with a pre-diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome?

Abstract

Objectives: This study aims to investigate if function and mood involvement correlate in female patients who have a pre-diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) and its correlation with physical examination and electrodiagnostic findings. Patients and methods:A total of 170 patients between the ages of 18-65 who applied to Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation outpatient clinics with CTS symptoms between May 2014 and December 2015 were enrolled. The mean age of patients was 44.6±11 years. Before electrophysiological testing (electromyography; EMG), Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand questionnaire (QuickDASH), Beck Depression Inventory, Tinnel, Phalen and Durkan tests, grip and pinch strength measurement by JAMAR hand dynamometer were performed. The patients also used a Visual Analog Scale (VAS) to determine the severity of their symptoms during the day and at night. Results:In 98 patients (57.6%) the diagnosis of CTS was confirmed by EMG, while 72 patients (42.4%) had normal electrodiagnostic findings. In patients who had normal EMG, Beck Depression Inventory and QuickDASH scores were not significantly different from the patients who had an electrodiagnosis of CTS. Pain experienced in the night was significantly higher in patients who had an electrodiagnosis of CTS, and these patients had significantly higher Beck Depression Inventory and QuickDASH scores. Conclusion:The lack of electrodiagnostic evidence in patients who have CTS symptoms does not show that function and mood are not affected in these patients. However, mood is significantly affected in patients with severe CTS.

Elektromyografisi normal karpal tünel sendromlu bireylerde anksiyete, sağlık anksiyetesi ve somatosensoryal amplifikasyon düzeyleri

“…These results indicated that the said patient group had high levels of health anxiety and somatosensory amplification. In comparison, in another study available in the literature the CTS patients were divided into groups based on their EMG findings as normal, mild, moderate or severe, however no significant difference was found between these groups in terms of BDI, VAS, and the disabilities of the arm, shoulder and hand (DASH) questionnaire scores 5 . In this study, only BDI was used for psychological assessment.…”

“…In parallel with the results of these studies, Coskun et Al. have determined a positive correlation between the VAS scores with BDI scores 5 . There are also studies available in the literature in which a relationship has been demonstrated between chronic pain and depression 25 .…”

“…181 consecutive patients who applied to Gaziantep University Medical Faculty Hospital Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation outpatient clinic between December 2020 and January 2021 were included in the study. Different diagnostic criteria for CTS have been defined in the literature 5 .We included 181 patients who were diagnosed with CTS by history and physical examination in this study 9 . EMG was performed according to American Association Society of Neuromuscular and Electrodiagnostic Medicine (AANEM) guidelines 10 .The EMG findings of the 68 patients, from among the 181 patients with CTS symptoms that applied to the outpatient clinic during the study period, were found to be within the normal limits.…”

“…It was demonstrated in the previously conducted studies that CTS patients have higher rates of anxiety, depression, substance use, and somatoform pain disorders [5][6] . It has also been reported that the depression and anxiety levels in CTS patients are associated with sensory loss, hand weakness, thenar atrophy and hand pain 6 .…”