title: Diagnosis from functional perspectives: usefulness of a manual tactile test for predicting precision pinch performance and disease severity in subjects with carpal tunnel syndrome.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate how the severity levels revealed in a nerve conduction study (NCS) affect the results of the Manual Tactile Test (MTT) for patients with carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), and to examine the relationships between the results of the MTT and precision pinch performance.
  
  
  METHODS
  Case-control studies.
  
  
  METHODS
  Hospital and local community.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients with CTS (N=70) with 119 affected hands were studied. A control group matched by age, sex, and hand dominance was also recruited.
  
  
  METHODS
  Not applicable.
  
  
  METHODS
  CTS severity was determined based on NCS findings. The MTT, traditional sensory tests, and precision pinch performance were used to examine the functional sensory status of the hand from different perspectives.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The patients with CTS exhibited deterioration in all of the sensibility tests (P<.001). The results showed that the MTT could classify subgroups of severity in CTS (P<.001). A moderate correlation was found between the results of the MTT and precision pinch performance (r=.526-.585, P<.001). Multiple linear regression analysis showed that the MTT results were useful indicators for predicting precision pinch performance and differentiating severity in subjects with CTS (r(2)=.376 and .323, respectively).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The findings indicate that the MTT could be a valid and useful assessment for hand sensibility and prehensile pinch performance in patients with CTS.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tainan, Taiwan; Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, Tainan, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Hsiu-Yun
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Hsu
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Section of Plastic Surgery, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Yao-Lung
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Kuo
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.
authors.forename: I-Ming
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Jou
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tainan, Taiwan; Medical Device Innovation Center, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Fong-Chin
authors.initials: FC
authors.lastname: Su
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Section of Plastic Surgery, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Haw-Yen
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Chiu
authors.affiliation: Medical Device Innovation Center, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan; Department of Occupational Therapy, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan. Electronic address: jkkuo@mail.ncku.edu.tw.
authors.forename: Li-Chieh
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Kuo
mesh_terms: D002349:Carpal Tunnel Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006225:Hand / Q000294:innervation*; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009431:Neural Conduction / Q000502:physiology; D009460:Neurologic Examination / Q000379:methods*; D052581:Pinch Strength / Q000502:physiology*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014110:Touch / Q000502:physiology
keywords: Carpal tunnel syndrome; Rehabilitation; Sensation