“Patients weren’t really receiving treatments in a three-year period after a diagnosis of [carpal tunnel syndrome], and they probably weren’t getting worse, because they weren’t receiving more treatments,” said Dr. Baker. Positioning may have been under-reported because patients could have purchased over-the-counter splints, she added.
Dr. Baker followed this study with a new, not-yet-published study on the potential influence of a patient’s insurance type on the carpal tunnel syndrome treatments prescribed, using data from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey. Out of 23,236,000 total carpal tunnel syndrome treatments prescribed from 2005–2014, 51.2% were splints, she said.
Susan Bernstein is a freelance medical journalist based in Atlanta.
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- Grasso MA, Yesha Y, Rishe N, et al. A big data approach for selection of a large osteoarthritis cohort. Osteoarthr Cartil. 2016 Apr;24(suppl 1):S208-S209.
- Baker NA, Stevans JM, Terhorst L, et al. What types of treatment are provided for patients with carpal tunnel syndrome? A retrospective analysis of commercial insurance. PM R. 2018 Aug;10(8):826–835.
- Huisstede BM, Frieden J, Coert JH, et al. Carpal tunnel syndrome: Hand surgeons, hand therapists, and physical medicine and rehabilitation physicians agree on a multidisciplinary treatment guideline—results from the European HANDGUIDE study. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2014 Dec;95(12):2253–2263.
