Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), a condition occurring in 0.1% of the
general population, develops as the result of median nerve compression in
the carpal tunnel of the wrist, usually because of tenosynovitis of the flexor
tendons. We aimed to compare pulsed-mode radiofrequency lesioning of
the median nerve to repetitive local steroid injections under ultrasound
guidance (USG) for the treatment of CTS. Two groups were treated, each
of 25 patients with a diagnosis of moderate CTS, referred to in this study as
Group Steroid (Group S) and Group Radiofrequency (Group S+RF). Both
groups received an injection of 1 ml 0.5% levobupivacaine mixed with 1 ml
betamethasone into the carpal tunnel under USG. Four weeks later, Group
S received a local steroid injection together with the same initial dose, and
Group S+RF received pulsed-mode radiofrequency. All procedures were
applied under the USG(Esaote® MyLab Five, Netherlands) by the same
doctor (Dr Sehirlioglu) Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire (BCTQ) and
electromyographic evaluation were applied to all patients on their first visit
and 12 weeks later. At the 12th week, changes of the electrophysiological
parameters of the median nerve were recorded for both groups, including
motor and sensorial conduction velocity, functional capacity and symptom
1* Sağlık Bilimleri Üniversitesi, İstanbul EAH, Anesteziyoloji ve Yoğun Bakım Kliniği,
Sorumlu Yazar /Corresponding author:
[email protected],
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1471-1340 2 Sağlık Bilimleri Üniversitesi, İstanbul EAH, Anesteziyoloji ve Yoğun Bakım Kliniği,
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1316-7160 3 Sağlık Bilimleri Üniversitesi, İstanbul EAH, Anesteziyoloji ve Yoğun Bakım Kliniği,
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5488-3399 4
Sağlık Bilimleri Üniversitesi, İstanbul EAH, Anesteziyoloji ve Yoğun Bakım Kliniği,
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6480-5356
Makale Geliş Tarihi / Received: 25.9.2019 – Makale Kabul Tarihi / Accepted: 5.10.2019
Özgün Araştırmalar (Original Research)
Karpal Tünel Sendromu Tedavisinde Median Sinirin Darbeli Radyofrekans Lezyonuyla Birlikte
Ultrason Eşliğinde Steroid Enjeksiyonu Etkili mi?
44
severity as determined by the Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire (BCTQ).
Our results indicate that although there was no significant difference at
12th week between the groups according to electromyographic (EMG)
findings, the functional status and symptom severity as measured by the
BCTQ were worse in Group S+RF than in Group S.
