Use of nerve conduction studies in carpal tunnel syndrome

Abstract

This review article examines the use of nerve conduction studies in the management of carpal tunnel syndrome. These studies should be understood not as a test that determines the diagnosis but as a measure of impaired nerve function. They are sensitive indicators of local demyelination and axonal loss that can detect and quantify these changes before the appearance of clinical signs, providing information that cannot be obtained with the unaided senses of the physician, nor by any other investigation. They are the best available indicator of overall disease severity, correlating with symptoms and anatomical change in the median nerve. They have some prognostic value for surgical outcome and are sufficiently sensitive to change for the evaluation of treatment response. When surgery does not yield the expected improvement in symptoms, they can help to establish whether decompression has been achieved provided preoperative results are available for comparison.

Keywords: Carpal tunnel syndrome; diagnosis; nerve conduction studies; prognosis; severity.