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ISSN Druckformat: 0896-2960
ISSN Online: 2162-6553
Indexed in
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and the Relevance of Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire in Patients with Spinal Cord Injury
ABSTRAKT
Paraplegics with spinal cord injury (SCI) who are independent in activities of daily living are known to have upper limb neuropathy due to constant use for mobility and transfers. The disabled-unfriendly environment and sociocultural barriers in developing countries such as India add further strain on the upper limbs. It is important to determine the effects of these increased demands in terms of the prevalence of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) in the SCI population from developing countries. In this study, we investigated the prevalence of CTS and correlated its prediction with the Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire (BCTQ). Fifty-seven patients with SCI (52 male and 5 female) with a neurological level T2 and below with no associated complication of the upper limbs due to any other disease apart from SCI were recruited in the study. All subjects underwent electrodiagnostic studies for the median nerve (both sensory and motor). Baseline demographic parameters such as time since injury, age, sex, American Spinal Injury Association Impairment Scale (AIS), vocation, comorbidities, and current mode of indoor and outdoor mobility were recorded. Scores from demographic data and electrodiagnostic data were accessed. The study showed an overall prevalence of CTS of 75.4% in the studied population. The statistical correlation between time since injury and presence of CTS was found to be significant (p = 0.023). The BCTQ did not show any statistical correlation (symptom score, p = 0.71; functional score, p = 0.17) in prediction of CTS. There was a high prevalence of CTS, especially in relation to time since injury, and the BCTQ was found to be inadequate to predict CTS in the studied population.