Incidence and Risk Factors for Revision Within 1 Year of Primary Carpal Tunnel Release

The annual volume of carpal tunnel release (CTR) in the United States has been estimated to be 577 000 per year. Our objectives were to evaluate the incidence and risk factors for revision CTR within 1 year of primary CTR.

We identified all adult patients undergoing primary CTR from October 2015 to September 2019 in the New York Statewide Planning and Research Cooperative System database using Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes. We used the CPT modifier codes to determine laterality of index and revision procedures. We estimated multivariable hierarchical logistic regression models to evaluate risk factors for revision CTR within 1 year.

Of the 80 423 primary CTR procedures, 178 (0.22%) underwent a revision CTR within 1 year of the index surgery. The mean (SD) age of the entire cohort was 58.69 (14.43) years, 61.1% were women, 73.2% were non-Hispanic white, 42.9% were covered through private insurance, and 9.5% had diabetes mellitus. Workers' compensation insurance (odds ratio [OR] = 1.83, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.13-2.98, P = .02) and simultaneous bilateral CTR (OR = 14.91, 95% CI, 9.62-23.12, P < .001) were associated with revision CTR within 1 year of the index procedure. No models demonstrated an association between endoscopic technique or surgeon volume and revision CTR.

The incidence of revision CTR within 1 year was lower than that previously reported. Patients covered by workers' compensation and those undergoing simultaneous bilateral CTR had higher likelihood of a revision CTR within 1 year, whereas endoscopic technique and surgeon volume were not associated with revision CTR within 1 year.