title: Patient satisfaction following carpal-tunnel decompression: a comparison of patients with and without osteoarthritis of the wrist.
abstract: The aim of this study was to assess whether surgical decompression for carpal-tunnel syndrome (CTS) in the presence of primary or secondary osteoarthritis of the wrist is associated with poorer patient satisfaction. We did a retrospective matched cohort study. Twenty-four patients who underwent surgical decompression for CTS secondary to osteoarthritis were identified by reviewing the notes and the radiographs. A control group consisted of 24 patients without osteoarthritis of the wrist who underwent carpal-tunnel decompression. The control group was matched for age, sex, side, and neuro-physiological severity of the nerve compression. In the group with osteoarthritis of the wrist, 17 (71%) patients reported their symptom relief as satisfactory, and 7 (29%) reported the results as unsatisfactory. In the control group, 23 (96%) patients reported their symptom relief as satisfactory, and 1 (4%) reported the results as unsatisfactory (P=0.0325). In conclusion, patient satisfaction following surgical decompression in patients with secondary CTS due to osteoarthritis was significantly lower compared to patients without osteoarthritis of the wrist.
authors.affiliation: Trauma and Orthopaedics, City Hospital, B18 7QH, Birmingham, UK. surajjoshy@yahoo.com
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Joshy
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Thomas
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ghosh
authors.forename: S G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Haidar
authors.forename: S C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Deshmukh
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002349:Carpal Tunnel Syndrome / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D019299:Decompression, Surgical / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008475:Median Nerve / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D008875:Middle Aged; D010003:Osteoarthritis / Q000150:complications / Q000601:surgery*; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014955:Wrist Joint