Management in the carpal tunnel syndrome: clinical and electromyographical follow-up in 62 patients.

Sixty-two patients suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) were followed for an average period of 36 months, and clinical and electromyographical assessments were carried out repeatedly before and after treatment. Treatment was either conservative (25 patients) or surgical (37 patients). The use of repeated electromyographical examinations to supplement the clinical data proved to reveal more objective information on which to determine the choice of therapy. This type of management leads to the choice of medical treatment for patients showing a decrease in an initially prolonged distal motor latency time of the median nerve, whereas surgery may be preferred in patients showing progressively increasing latency times. In this way, a valuable guideline, i.e. the correlation between distal latency times and natural course, can provide a more objective basis for management of CTS patients. The similar final outcome in both groups in our opinion favours the proposed management.