Electrodiagnostic and Biophysical Profile of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) patients in a tertiary hospital

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) is a common entrapment neuropathy due to compression of the median nerve below the flexor retinaculum at the carpal tunnel of the wrist. A clinical diagnosis of CTS can be established based on clinical findings like Numbness, Tingling and Paresthesia in the lateral 3.5 digits of palm (sensory field of the median nerve) motor weakness and wasting of the muscles of the thenar eminence,Tinel sign and Phalen’s sign. The severity of symptoms and functional status of patients with CTS can be assessed by clinical questionnaires like Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire (BCTQ) (1). Electrodiagnostic tests like nerve conduction studies objectively demonstrate a focal slowing or conduction block of the median nerve at the wrist and can quantify the electrodiagnostic severity of CTS (2).These tests are interpreted with clinical correlation to achieve the final diagnosis. CTS can be treated by conservative orthotics, steroid injections or a surgical release procedure (3).