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Published on: January 11, 2019
Association of Psychometric Indices and Normal Electrodiagnostic Studies in Referral for Suspected Carpal Tunnel
Marianna Papadopoulou1,2, Georgios Tsivgoulis3, Ioanna Chatzi4
1Second Department of Neurology, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Attikon University General Hospital, Athens, Greece; marpapgr@yahoo.co.uk mpapad@uniwa.gr.
Background/Aim:
The aim of this study was to investigate psychometric indices and their association with electrodiagnostic studies (EDX).
Patients And Methods:
A total of 100 patients referred for EDX testing of the upper limbs were prospectively enrolled. Demographic data, laboratory test results, referral physician specialty, main symptom, WHODAS 2.0-12 item version, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire (BCTQ) and a Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) indicating the extent of their discomfort were collected.
Results:
Normal EDX results were elicited from 56% of patients. Only the presence of numbness in the right hand, pain in the left hand and older age were significantly associated with an abnormal EDX result. The more depressed and anxious the patients were, the more they scored on psychometric scales.
Conclusion:
The large prevalence of normal EDX studies raises the issue of unnecessary referrals. A proportion of patients are referred only according to their reported symptoms. Psychological factors affect the way a person expresses physical discomfort, leading to unnecessary EDX referrals and inevitably with normal results.
