title: [Pain and numbness in the arms and hands and carpal tunnel syndrome diagnosis].
abstract: We studied the frequency and localization of pain and numbness in patients with carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), in comparison with individuals of the general population, matched for sex and age, and we determined the sensitivity and the specificity of these symptoms for the CTS diagnosis. Pain was a common symptom in the two groups of patients. Numbness occurred more frequently in CTS group (p<0.05). In CTS patients, pain complaints were present in neck (42.8%), arms (36.8%) and hands (82.8%). Among controls, pain was more common in head (11.4%), trunk (37.1%), legs (22.8%). In our casuistics, in relation to the CTS diagnosis, the presence of pain and numbness have low sensitivity and high specificity when they occur in the arms, and high sensitivity and specificity when they occur in the hands.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Fisioterapia, Universidade Estadual da Paraíba - Campus I - Campina Grande PB, Brasil (UEPB).
authors.forename: Valéria Ribeiro Nogueira
authors.initials: VR
authors.lastname: Barbosa
authors.forename: Fábio Galvão
authors.initials: FG
authors.lastname: Dantas
authors.forename: Maria Aparecida Alves
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Cardoso
authors.forename: Jovany Luis Alves
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: de Medeiros
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001132:Arm; D002349:Carpal Tunnel Syndrome / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004576:Electromyography; D005260:Female; D006225:Hand; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010146:Pain / Q000209:etiology*; D010292:Paresthesia / Q000209:etiology*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires