Article

A case-control study.
There are no reports in the
literature that evaluate the overall health status (OHS) of patients with mild to
moderate forms of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) using 36-Item Short Form Health
Survey (SF-36). PURPOSE OF THE STUDY: To assess OHS in patients with mild to
moderate CTS, in comparison with healthy subjects.
METHODS: The study involved
273 healthy people and 140 people diagnosed with CTS.
The CTS diagnosis was made
on the basis of clinical examinations and nerve conduction studies. OHS was
assessed using the SF-36. RESULTS: In the assessment of physical components of
OHS, in the CTS group (compared with healthy subjects), the results show
significantly lower values in physical functioning, role limitations because of
physical health problems, bodily pain, and general health perceptions by 7.44,
23.2, 18.9, and 4.1, respectively. Mental components were lower (in CTS group)
only in relation to vitality and social functioning by 4.1 and 5.5, respectively.
In the assessment of physical component summary (PCS) and mental component
summary (MCS), the results show significantly lower values of PCS (by 13 in CTS
group) and no significant differences in the assessment of MCS between patients
with CTS and healthy subjects. DISCUSSION: The perception of the OHS in CTS
patients is diminished. Hence, when evaluating the effects of the therapy, not
only disease-specific scales should be used, but also the OHS. This will allow an
assessment of the impact of CTS on OHS and the impact of applied therapy, not
only in terms of a reduction in the main symptoms of the condition. CONCLUSIONS:
Mild and moderate forms of CTS significantly affected the PCS of the OHS and all
its subcomponents (physical functioning, role limitations because of physical
health problems, bodily pain, and general health perceptions) but did not affect
the MCS of OHS evaluated as a whole. There were significant differences in the
mental component in the evaluation of vitality and social functioning. LEVEL OF
EVIDENCE: 3.
CI - Copyright (c) 2016 Hanley & Belfus. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights
reserved.

Langue : ANGLAIS