TY - JOUR
T1 - Carpal tunnel syndrome in pregnancy
T2 - is there really oedema in the carpal tunnel?
AU - Sikkandar, Mohamed Faizal
AU - Abdullah, Shalimar
AU - Singh, Rajesh
AU - Gill, Parminder Singh
AU - Kamaludin, Nur Azuatul Akmal
AU - Aun, Tan Jin
AU - Sapuan, Jamari
N1 - Funding Information:
This study was supported by a grant from the Faculty of Medicine, UKM (P49489 / 2013). Further acknowledgements to Dr Rizuana Iqbal Hussain and Associate Professor Dr Shamsul Azhar Shah..
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 UPM Press. All rights reserved.
Copyright:
Copyright 2020 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2020/1
Y1 - 2020/1
N2 - Introduction: Compression of the median nerve in pregnancy is thought to be due to fluid retention within the carpal tunnel space. We aim to discover the cause of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) in pregnancy using high resonance ultrasonography. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study where obstetric patients were screened for CTS and subjected to a non invasive ultrasonic imaging. Results: A total of 63 patients were seen with 25 diagnosed to have CTS (39.7%) and 38 patients had none (60.3%) based on a screening tool. Age ranged from 20-42 years old with the highest range in the 28-30 year old group (34.9%). In patients with CTS, the cross sectional area of the median nerve inside the tunnel was a mean of 0.908 cm ie larger, while non-CTS patients had a mean of 0.797 cm inside the tunnel. The transverse carpal ligament (TCL) measured a mean of 0.0988 cm in the CTS group (ie thinner) and 0.1058 cm in the non-CTS group. Median nerve mobility at equal to or less than one tendon width was 80% in pregnant women with CTS and 92.1% for those without. No fluid was present within the carpal tunnel of all patients. The results were statistically not significant. Conclusion: Ultrasonographic evidence in pregnant women with CTS shows a larger median nerve, a more mobile median nerve and a less thick transverse carpal ligament. There is absence of fluid retention and synovitis ruling out extrinsic compression of the median nerve as cause of CTS in pregnancy.
AB - Introduction: Compression of the median nerve in pregnancy is thought to be due to fluid retention within the carpal tunnel space. We aim to discover the cause of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) in pregnancy using high resonance ultrasonography. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study where obstetric patients were screened for CTS and subjected to a non invasive ultrasonic imaging. Results: A total of 63 patients were seen with 25 diagnosed to have CTS (39.7%) and 38 patients had none (60.3%) based on a screening tool. Age ranged from 20-42 years old with the highest range in the 28-30 year old group (34.9%). In patients with CTS, the cross sectional area of the median nerve inside the tunnel was a mean of 0.908 cm ie larger, while non-CTS patients had a mean of 0.797 cm inside the tunnel. The transverse carpal ligament (TCL) measured a mean of 0.0988 cm in the CTS group (ie thinner) and 0.1058 cm in the non-CTS group. Median nerve mobility at equal to or less than one tendon width was 80% in pregnant women with CTS and 92.1% for those without. No fluid was present within the carpal tunnel of all patients. The results were statistically not significant. Conclusion: Ultrasonographic evidence in pregnant women with CTS shows a larger median nerve, a more mobile median nerve and a less thick transverse carpal ligament. There is absence of fluid retention and synovitis ruling out extrinsic compression of the median nerve as cause of CTS in pregnancy.
KW - Compression neuropathy
KW - Entrapment neuropathy
KW - Median nerve
KW - Obstetrics
KW - Ultrasonography
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85079241986&partnerID=8YFLogxK
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85079241986
VL - 16
SP - 191
EP - 195
JO - Malaysian Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences
JF - Malaysian Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences
SN - 1675-8544
IS - 1
ER -