Research Information System
Journal of Orthopaedic Reports, 2025 (Scopus)
Aim: To investigate the relationship between demographic and clinical characteristics and postoperative symptom severity in patients who underwent open carpal tunnel release for clinically and electrophysiologically confirmed carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). Methods: This retrospective observational study included 93 patients (74 females, 19 males; mean age, 54.85 ± 11.74 years) who underwent unilateral open carpal tunnel release between January 2019 and 2025. Demographic and clinical variables such as age, gender, side, severity of electromyography (EMG) findings in both hands, presence of systemic comorbidities, and duration of symptoms prior to surgery and postoperative time to resume daily-life were retrospectively extracted from the hospital's electronic medical records. Postoperative symptom severity score (PSSS) was rated based on patient's current symptom level on a numerical rating scale from 0 to 10, with 0 indicating complete resolution of symptoms and 10 representing no improvement at all. Results: Operated-hand EMG severity was significantly correlated with age (p < 0.001), and contralateral EMG severity (p = 0.038). The median PSSS was measured as 0 (range: 0–10). A significant relationship was found between the PSSS and side (p = 0.016). PSSS was also found to be significantly correlated with postoperative time to resume daily-life (p = 0.038, r = 0.216). Longer duration from symptom onset to surgery was also significantly associated with a longer time to resume hand use (p = 0.001, r = 0.327). Conclusion: In patients with CTS, the severity of postoperative symptoms was found to be related only to the side of the operation and the time taken to resume daily activities. While the severity of EMG findings was associated with patient age and contralateral EMG results, they were ineffective in predicting postoperative symptom severity. Delayed surgical intervention was associated with slow recovery of hand function. These results imply that early surgical intervention and thorough preoperative evaluation could improve the functional outcomes of patients with CTS.