[Sensitivity of electrophysiologic tests in the diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome]

According to anatomic characteristics of median nerve branches and pathophysiological basis of the carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), significant difference in sensitivity of some electrophysiological parameters in the diagnosis of this syndrome was presumed. The aim of this study was to analyze characteristics of some abnormalities of electrophysiological parameters and to determine their frequency in the carpal tunnel syndrome. Investigation was performed on 34 patients with the carpal tunnel syndrome and 30 neurologically healthy subjects. EMGs of the tenar muscles, terminal latency parameters for the median nerve and sensory conductivity of the median nerve branches including cutaneous palmar branch and ulnar nerve branches of the ring finger were examined and analyzed. Results have shown that abnormalities were most frequently found in sensory conductivity parameters for median nerve branch of the ring finger. Significant difference between sensory conductivity parameters for cutaneous palmar branch and median nerve branch of the thumb was also found. These results were discussed in terms of current knowledge about anatomic characteristics of the hand innervation and pathophysiology of the carpal tunnel syndrome. It was concluded that the most frequent physiological findings could be used as a highly sensitive test for reliable and early diagnosis of CTS.