Turkish Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation 2017 , Vol 63 , Num 4

Does electrodiagnostic evidence correlate with mood and function in patients with a pre-diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome?

Özge Keniş-Coşkun 1 ,Evrim Karadağ-Saygı 2 ,Tuğba Özsoy 2 ,Esra Giray 2 ,Başak Mansız-Kaplan 3 ,Kaan Kora 4
1 Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Kartal Dr. Lütfi Kırdar Training and Research Hospital, İstanbul, Turkey
2 Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Medical Faculty of Marmara University, İstanbul, Turkey
3 Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Ankara Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Research and Training Hospital, Ankara, Turkey
4 Department Psychiatry, Medical Faculty of Marmara University, İstanbul, Turkey
DOI : 10.5606/tftrd.2017.453 Objectives: This study aims to investigate if function and mood involvement correlate in female patients who have a pre-diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) and its correlation with physical examination and electrodiagnostic findings.

Patients and methods: A total of 170 patients between the ages of 18-65 who applied to Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation outpatient clinics with CTS symptoms between May 2014 and December 2015 were enrolled. The mean age of patients was 44.6±11 years. Before electrophysiological testing (electromyography; EMG), Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand questionnaire (QuickDASH), Beck Depression Inventory, Tinnel, Phalen and Durkan tests, grip and pinch strength measurement by JAMAR hand dynamometer were performed. The patients also used a Visual Analog Scale (VAS) to determine the severity of their symptoms during the day and at night.

Results: In 98 patients (57.6%) the diagnosis of CTS was confirmed by EMG, while 72 patients (42.4%) had normal electrodiagnostic findings. In patients who had normal EMG, Beck Depression Inventory and QuickDASH scores were not significantly different from the patients who had an electrodiagnosis of CTS. Pain experienced in the night was significantly higher in patients who had an electrodiagnosis of CTS, and these patients had significantly higher Beck Depression Inventory and QuickDASH scores.

Conclusion: The lack of electrodiagnostic evidence in patients who have CTS symptoms does not show that function and mood are not affected in these patients. However, mood is significantly affected in patients with severe CTS. Keywords : Carpal tunnel syndrome; function; mood