Comparison of Long-term Outcomes Following Endoscopic or Open Surgery for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

May 5, 2015 updated by: Region Skane

Endoscopic Versus Open Carpal Tunnel Release: 10 to 15 Years Follow-up of a Randomized Controlled Trial

No randomized trials have compared long-term outcomes following endoscopic and open carpal tunnel release in patients with carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). The investigators conducted a single-center randomized controlled trial between January 1998 and December 2002, including 128 patients (25 to 60 years) with clinically diagnosed and electrophysiologically confirmed idiopathic CTS. The outcome measures included the validated CTS symptom severity and functional status scales completed at baseline and 1 year postoperatively. The trial showed that the 1-year outcomes of open and endoscopic carpal tunnel release regarding symptoms and function were equivalent. This extended follow-up of the randomized trial will primarily measure the symptom outcomes at 10-15 years after surgery. A questionnaire will be sent by mail to the patients. The questionnaire will consist of the CTS symptom severity and functional status scales, the 6-item CTS symptoms scale (CTS-6), the 11-item disabilities of the arm, shoulder and hand (QuickDASH), the 2-item palmar pain scale, and a visual analog scale about treatment satisfaction. The patients will also be asked about whether they had undergone further surgery for CTS in the same or contralateral hand after their operation in the randomized trial. The completed questionnaires will be scanned into a database. The scores for the different scales will be calculated. Analysis will include comparison between the open and endoscopic groups as well as within-group changes of scores from 1 year to 10-15 years.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

124

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

25 years to 60 years (Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria (original trial):

  • Primary idiopathic carpal tunnel syndrome
  • age 25-60 years
  • currently employed
  • duration of symptoms of at least three months
  • inadequate response to six weeks' treatment with wrist splint
  • symptoms of classic or probable carpal tunnel syndrome according to the diagnostic criteria in the Katz hand diagram, and nerve conduction test showing median neuropathy at the wrist (distal motor latency ≥4.5 milliseconds, wrist-digit sensory latency ≥3.5 milliseconds, or sensory conduction velocity at the carpal tunnel segment <40 metres/second but no other abnormalities.

Exclusion Criteria (original trial):

Inflammatory joint disease

  • diabetes mellitus, thyroid disorder, pregnancy, trauma to the affected hand during the preceding year
  • previous carpal tunnel release surgery in the affected hand
  • carpal tunnel release surgery in the contralateral hand during the preceding year
  • symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome in the contralateral hand not adequately relieved by splint at the time of enrollment
  • current sick leave because of disorders other than carpal tunnel syndrome
  • inability to complete questionnaires because of language problem or cognitive disorder.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Open surgery
Open surgery is Open carpal tunnel release
Procedure: Open surgery
Open carpal tunnel release using conventional open technique under local anesthesia and tourniquet. The incision in the open procedure extended from about 1 cm proximal to 3 cm distal to the wrist crease. The transverse carpal ligament was divided; no additional procedures were performed. a soft dressing was applied. Dressing and sutures were removed 10 days postoperatively.
Other Names:
  • Open carpal tunnel release surgery
Experimental: Endoscopic surgery
Endoscopic surgery is 2-portal endoscopic carpal tunnel release
Procedure: Endoscopic surgery
Surgery dwas done under local anesthesia injected at the portal sites only. Tourniquet was used. Each of the two skin incisions in the endoscopic procedure was 1 cm long. With the endoscope inserted from the distal portal and a hook knife inserted from the proximal portal, the transverse carpal ligament was divided from its distal edge to its proximal edge. Incisions were closed with non-absorbables sutures and a soft dressing was applied. Sutures were removed 10 days postoperatively.
Other Names:
  • Endoscopic carpal tunnel release surgery

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Change in CTS symptom severity score
Time Frame: Baseline to 10-15 years postoperatively
Baseline to 10-15 years postoperatively

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Rate of repeat surgery
Time Frame: 10-15 years postoperatively
10-15 years postoperatively
Change in CTS functional status score
Time Frame: from baseline and 1 year to 10-15 years postoperatively
from baseline and 1 year to 10-15 years postoperatively
Residual pain in the scar or proximal palm
Time Frame: 10-15 years postoperatively
10-15 years postoperatively
Patient satisfaction with the results of surgery
Time Frame: 10-15 years postoperatively
10-15 years postoperatively
Change in CTS symptom severity score
Time Frame: 1 year to 10-15 years postoperatively
1 year to 10-15 years postoperatively

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
CTS-6 score
Time Frame: 10-15 years postoperatively
10-15 years postoperatively
QuickDASH score
Time Frame: 10-15 years postoperatively
10-15 years postoperatively

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Region Skane

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Isam Atroshi, MD, PhD, Clinical Sciences, Lund University, Sweden

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

September 1, 2013

Primary Completion (Actual)

November 1, 2014

Study Completion (Actual)

January 1, 2015

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

June 24, 2013

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 25, 2013

First Posted (Estimate)

June 26, 2013

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

May 6, 2015

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 5, 2015

Last Verified

May 1, 2015

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • HLM-CTSRCT-2

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

Clinical Trials on Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Clinical Trials on Open surgery

Search Similar Trials

Sponsors and Collaborators

Medical Conditions

Drug Interventions

CROs by country

CROs in Armenia

Conditions

Rare Diseases

Drug Interventions

Dietary Supplements

Sponsor/Collaborators

Locations

3
Subscribe