Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire: the influence of diagnosis on patient-oriented results.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the influence of the patient-physician interaction and the instrumental awareness of the assessment of patients' answers to a carpal tunnel syndrome-specific questionnaire.


METHODS
We performed a prospective study of the results of a self-administered questionnaire for carpal tunnel syndrome before and after electrodiagnosis. Thirty-two consecutive patients were referred to our neurophysiological laboratory for suspected carpal tunnel syndrome. A patient-oriented evaluation using the Italian version of the Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire (BCTQ), a widely used disease-specific questionnaire, was carried out before the clinical interaction was performed. The assessment was performed by means of a neurophysiological classification. After the communication of the result, the BCTQ was again administered.


RESULTS
The comparison of the BCTQ results, obtained PRE and POST clinical interaction, showed a significant reduction in the reported symptoms and hand function impairment not related to the neurophysiological results.


CONCLUSIONS
The findings of the patient-oriented evaluation are significantly influenced by the communication of the assessment results. In prospective studies, the baseline assessment by means of a patient-oriented evaluation should consistently be performed in all patients at the same stage of the clinical process.
Department of Neurosciences, Università Cattolica, Roma, Italy. lpadua@rm.unicatt.it
Luca
L
Padua
Roberto
R
Padua
Irene
I
Aprile
Pietro
P
Caliandro
Pietro
P
Tonali
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002349:Carpal Tunnel Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D004568:Electrodiagnosis / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D010808:Physical Examination; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors