Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: As Seen from the Perspective of the Patient

Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is the most common nerve compression syndrome in the upper extremity and is one of the most common problems treated by hand surgeons. Despite its ubiquity-or perhaps because of it-there is a lack of unanimity regarding how best to treat CTS and what the options for treatment are. This study aimed to explore what patients find important when deciding on treatment of CTS in an effort to improve the physician-patient shared decision-making process.

An online crowdsourcing platform was used to recruit participants for this study. Study participants were first led through a clinical scenario in which the symptoms of CTS were explained. They were then asked a series of questions regarding what was important to them when deciding upon treatment. A Likert scale was used for responses.

In total, 268 participant responses were included in the study. A majority of patients responded that all surveyed factors were either very important or important when considering treatment. The risk of surgery was most important, whereas postoperative pain was least important. The risk of surgery was significantly more important to patients than postoperative pain and time out of work. The cost of surgery was significantly more important to patients than postoperative pain.

Given the lack of consensus regarding an algorithm for the treatment of CTS, the patient's preference is increasingly important when formulating a treatment plan. The results of this study may better help physicians frame the discussion of treatment options for CTS with their patients.