title: Clinical profile of carpal tunnel syndrome in a teaching hospital.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to review the clinical characteristics and demography of Carpel Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) cases presented to a university hospital.
  
  
  METHODS
  A retrospective study was done for 336 consecutive patients (290 females and 46 males), referred with a clinical diagnosis of CTS to the Neuro-diagnostic laboratory at King Abdulaziz University Hospital, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, between January 2007 and December 2010. All subjects had clinical evaluation and standardized nerve conduction studies (672 hands) performed by the same examiner.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Carpal tunnel syndrome was confirmed in 640 hands (95.23%) with female predominance (86.3%). The mean age was 52.4 in females and 54.4 years in males with overall highest occurrence among the age group 45- < 55 years. Bilateral CTS was confirmed in the majority of the patients, i.e., 304(90.5%), and remaining were unilateral. Among unilateral pattern, 22 (68.8%) had right CTS and others had left CTS. Most of the patients were treated conservatively 85.4% while the rest had surgical decompression 14.6%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Overall predominant age group was 45-<55 years with female dominancy. Majority of subjects had bilateral CTS as well as conservative treatment was frequent.
authors.affiliation: Hussein Mohammed Malibary, MBBS, PhD, Department of Neuromedicine, King Abdulaziz University Hospital, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Hussein Mohammed
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Malibary
authors.affiliation: Afnan Tawfeeg Al-Najjar, MBBS, Department of Internal Medicine, King Fahd Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Afnan Tawfeeg
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Al-Najjar
authors.affiliation: Dina Mohammed Yassen, MBBS, Department of Internal Medicine, King Abdulaziz Medical City, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Dina
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Mohammed Yassen
authors.affiliation: Hamad Abdullah Almarzouki Abuhussain, MBBS, Department of Internal Medicine, King Abdullah Medical City, Makkah, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Hamad Abdullah
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Almarzouki Abuhussain
authors.affiliation: Osman Omer Radhwi, MBBS, Department of Hematology/Oncology, King Abdulaziz University Hospital, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Osman Omer
authors.initials: OO
authors.lastname: Radhwi
authors.affiliation: Zainab Ridha Alfares, MBBS, King Abdulaziz University Hospital, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Zainab
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Ridha Alfares
keywords: Carpel tunnel syndrome; Nerve conduction; Surgical decompression