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Updated: Apr 10, 2026
Screening of Axonal Degeneration in Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Using Ultrasonography and Nerve Conduction Studies
Published on: January 11, 2019
Ultrasound-Guided Pulsed Radiofrequency for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: A Single-Blinded Randomized Controlled Study
Liang-Cheng Chen1, Cheng-Wen Ho2, Chia-Hung Sun3
1Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Tri-Service General Hospital, School of Medicine, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China; Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Hualien Armed Forces General Hospital, Hualien County, Taiwan, Republic of China.
Objective:
We assessed the therapeutic efficiency of ultrasound-guided pulsed radiofrequency (PRF) treatment of the median nerve in patients with carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS).
Methods:
We conducted a prospective, randomized, controlled, single-blinded study. Forty-four patients with CTS were randomized into intervention or control groups. Patients in the intervention group were treated with PRF and night splint, and the control group was prescribed night splint alone. Primary outcome was the onset time of significant pain relief assessed using the visual analog scale (VAS), and secondary outcomes included evaluation of the Boston Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Questionnaire (BCTQ) results, cross-sectional area (CSA) of the median nerve, sensory nerve conduction velocity (SNCV) of the median nerve, and finger pinch strength. All outcome measurements were performed at 1, 4, 8, and 12 weeks after treatment.
Results:
Thirty-six patients completed the study. The onset time of pain relief in the intervention group was significantly shorter (median onset time of 2 days vs. 14 days; hazard ratio = 7.37; 95% CI, 3.04-17.87) compared to the control group (p < 0.001). Significant improvement in VAS and BCTQ scores (p < 0.05) was detected in the intervention group at all follow-up periods compared to the controls (except for the severity subscale of BCTQ at week 1). Ultrasound-guided PRF treatment resulted in a lower VAS score and stronger finger pinch compared to the control group over the entire study.
Conclusions:
Our study shows that ultrasound-guided PRF serves as a better approach for pain relief in patients with CTS.
Trial Registration:
ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02217293.
