Impact of Intracompartmental Septation on Long-Term Treatment Result for de Quernain's Disease

This study aimed to assess the impact of intracompartmental septation in the first dorsal extensor compartment on nonsurgical treatment of de Quervain's disease.

Two hundred thirty-four wrists of 213 patients followed for more than 1 year were retrospectively reviewed on their final treatment outcomes. We compared patients' data at their initial visit including septal condition in the first dorsal extensor compartment assessed using ultrasound between 2 groups divided according to the outcomes. These groups were made based on whether they had surgery or not, and if patients received their initial corticosteroid injection at our clinic, based on whether wrists required additional treatment or not. We also compared patients` demographics between wrists with and without the septation.

With regard to treatment outcomes, the only variable we could observe significant difference between groups was sex, where female patients excluding peripartum women frequently require additional injection and/or surgery after initial corticosteroid injection. Intracompartmental septation, which was found in three-fourths (75.6%) of the total, did not affect our treatment outcomes in any comparisons. Female patients had nonseptated compartment more frequently than male patients. The patients with a septated compartment tended to be slightly younger.

Although having intracompartmental septation might be a risk factor to develop de Quervain's disease, it did not adversely affect nonsurgical treatment outcomes. It should be noted that initial corticosteroid injection is more likely to fail in women, conceivably due to nonanatomical reason such as hormonal influence.