Symptoms of 100 patients with electromyographically verified carpal tunnelsyndrome

To determine the symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), screening evalua tions were performed in 244 consecutive patients with sensory symptoms in t he hand and unequivocal stowing of median nerve conduction at the wrist. Th is yielded 100 patients thought to have no explanation other than CTS for t heir upper limb complaints. These patients completed a hand symptom diagram (HSD) and questionnaire (HSQ) about their symptoms. CTS symptoms were most commonly reported in median and ulnar digits, followed by median digits on ly and a glove distribution. Unusual sensory patterns were reported by some patients. Based on the HSQ, paresthesias or pain proximal to the wrist occ urred in 36.5% of hands. The usefulness of the HSD and HSQ for diagnosis wa s determined by asking three physicians, blinded to the diagnosis, to rate the likelihood of CTS in the patients with CTS and in 50 patients with othe r causes of upper extremity paresthesia. The sensitivities of the instrumen ts ranged from 54.1% to 85.5%. Combining the HSD and HSQ ratings increased the range of sensitivities to 79.3% to 93.7%. (C) 1999 John Wiley & Sons, I nc.