[Carpal tunnel syndrome: present views on causes and treatment. 250 cases (author's transl)]

The authors review a series of 250 patients with carpal tunnel syndrome who were operated upon and followed up, and report on an experimental study of the effects of local corticosteroid injections on the nervous fiber. Predominant among the various causes of syndrome were the so-called "rheumatic" conditions, chiefly fibrous hypertrophic tenosynovitis. Therapeutic indications and medical and surgical treatments are discussed. The need for limiting local corticosteroid therapy to one single injection is emphasized, together with the safety of surgical incision, which can be performed under nerve block anaesthesia and only requires a one-day stay in hospital.