title: A systematic review of anti-inflammatories for mild to moderate carpal tunnel syndrome.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to evaluate anti-inflammatory drugs in the medium- and long-term management of mild to moderate carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). The authors conducted a systematic review of the literature on the effectiveness of steroidal and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for mild and moderate cases of CTS. There were included only randomized, double-blind clinical trials. Six publications referring to five trials were included in the review. No study on nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs met our inclusion criteria. Although neurophysiological studies have not shown great differences resulting from the application of corticosteroids, the symptomatic benefit provided by such drugs is clear. In the short term, local infiltration provides better results than systemic administration of corticosteroids. Over a 1-year period, however, this difference does not persist. Further double-blind randomized trials evaluating therapeutic efficacy for a longer follow-up period are required to provide stronger evidence for both steroidal and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories.
authors.affiliation: Botucatu Medical School, São Paulo State University, São Paulo, Brazil. pthamamotof@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Pedro Tadao
authors.initials: PT
authors.lastname: Hamamoto Filho
authors.forename: Fabio Vicente
authors.initials: FV
authors.lastname: Leite
authors.forename: Tania
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ruiz
authors.forename: Luiz Antonio de Lima
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Resende
mesh_terms: D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects; D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects; D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects; D002349:Carpal Tunnel Syndrome / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D007270:Injections, Intra-Articular / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones; D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal