Idiopathic Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Clinical Trial
A few studies have shown that the mini-incision release technique decreases the pathologic
swelling of the median nerve at the inlet of the carpal tunnel and increases the flattening
ratio of the median nerve in the carpal tunnel. However, it is unknown whether the
endoscopic release technique similarly reverses these pathological changes in the median
nerve along the carpal tunnel in patients with CTS compared with the mini-incision release.
Investigators therefore conducted the current study to compare the subjective outcomes and
US-measured morphological changes in the median nerve in patients with CTS who received
either mini-incision or endoscopic release. Investigators hypothesized that (1) subjective
outcomes, as assessed by both the Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire (BCTQ) symptom/function
scores and the DASH scores, would be similar 24 weeks after either mini-incision or
endoscopic carpal tunnel release; (2) changes in the morphology of the median nerve at each
level of the carpal tunnel, as measured under high-resolution US, would be similar 24 weeks
after either mini-incision or endoscopic carpal tunnel release; and (3) morphological
changes would be correlated with improvements in subjective outcomes 24 weeks after
mini-incision or endoscopic carpal tunnel release.
n/a
Allocation: Randomized, Endpoint Classification: Efficacy Study, Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment, Masking: Open Label, Primary Purpose: Treatment