Application of the calculated electrophysiological parameters in early diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome

ABSTRACT

@#Objective: To investigate the application of the calculated electrophysiological parameters in early diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). Methods: 44 patients (60 hands) with a diagnosis of CTS and 31 healthy volunteers (44 hands) were enrolled. Acquired indicators include median nerve distal motor latency (DML), complex muscle action potential (CMAP) amplitude, conduction velocity (MCV), median nerve sensory nerve action potential (SNAP) amplitude, and conduction velocity (SCV). Then the terminal latency index (TLI), the residual latency (RL), and the difference in peak sensory latencies between the median and ulnar nerves (ΔPSL) were calculated. Results: The two groups were matched in age and gender distribution. The CTS group showed significant difference in SCV, DML, SNAP, and CMAP compared with the control group. The sensitivity, specificity, cutoff value, Youden index, and area under the curve of each indicator are respectively as follows TLI (0.733, 0.932, 0.622, 0.629, and 0.877), RL (0.750, 0.977, 1.334, 0.727, and 0.907), ΔPSL (0.950, 0.841, 0.150, 0.791, and 0.942), SCV (0.950, 0.796, 56.5, 0.746, and 0.946), DML (0.867, 0.932, 3.55, 0.799, and 0.930), SNAP (0.683, 0.932, 21.68, 0.615, and 0.844), and CMAP (0.683, 0.773, 8.76, 0.456, and 0.758). Conclusion: The calculated electrophysiological parameters have higher sensitivities and specificities relative to a single electrophysiological parameter, which could greatly improve the accuracy of early diagnosis of CTS.