Evaluation of cutaneous vibration thresholds in medical transcriptionists

This study was designed to determine whether vibration thresholds of transcriptionists varied significantly from the thresholds of individuals not exposed to keyboard activities. Using a multifrequency vibrometer, we obtained vibration threshold values from 31 medical transcriptionists who perform work on computer keyboards and compared them to values obtained from 40 control subjects. Thresholds tended to become more abnormal at higher frequencies, although this difference was statistically significant only at frequencies of 125 Hz, 250 Hz, and 500 Hz in the index and small fingers. Vibration thresholds were not found to increase significantly with age or years of occupation. Vibration thresholds were significantly increased in medical transcriptionists at the higher frequencies, suggesting subtle neural dysfunction.