Italian multicentre study of carpal tunnel syndrome. Differences in the clinical and neurophysiological features between male and female patients.

The Italian Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Study Group has carried out a multicentre study on 1123 hands with idiopathic carpal tunnel syndrome. We have compared the findings on clinical examination, the neurophysiological data and a patient-oriented assessment in men and women. The patient-oriented assessment showed that men complain of less discomfort than women; clinical examination was similar in the two populations and neurophysiological investigations showed greater changes in men.