Impact of carpal tunnel surgery according to pre-operative abnormality of sensory conduction in median nerve: a longitudinal study

Table 1 Number of hands analysed according to characteristics assessed at baseline

Baseline characteristic of patient or hand	Hands with symptoms at baseline		Hands analysed
	All patients	Agreed to be followed up
	N	N	N	%^a	%^b
Sex
Male	480	371	180	37.5	48.5
Female	1026	806	476	46.4	59.1
Age (years)
<40	379	269	93	24.5	34.6
40–49	486	382	193	39.7	50.5
50–59	481	395	271	56.3	68.6
≥60	160	131	99	61.9	75.6
Distribution of numbness/tingling
Other	168	142	80	47.6	56.3
Limited median	392	314	172	43.9	54.8
Extensive median	899	677	381	42.4	56.3
None	47	44	23	48.9	52.3
Tinel’s test
Negative	873	674	371	42.5	55.0
Positive	430	324	192	44.7	59.3
Missing	203	179	93	45.8	52.0
Phalen’s test
Negative	488	376	222	45.5	59.0
Positive	819	626	347	42.4	55.4
Missing	199	175	87	43.7	49.7
Median nerve sensory conduction
Normal	747	600	322	43.1	53.7
Abnormal	618	474	267	43.2	56.3
Missing	141	103	67	47.5	65.0

^a% of all hands with symptoms at baseline.
^b% of hands with symptoms at baseline in patients who agreed to receive follow-up questionnaire.

ISSN: 1471-2474