Surgically Treated Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and Ulnar Nerve Entrapment at the Elbow in Different Occupations and their Effect on Surgical Outcome

Objective: We investigated whether certain occupations were over-represented among surgically treated carpal tunnel syndrome and ulnar entrapment at the elbow, and if manual occupation affected surgical outcome. Methods: We included 9030 patients operated for CTS and 1269 for UNE registered in the Swedish National Quality Register for Hand Surgery (HAKIR) 2010-2016. Occupational data was retrieved from Statistics Sweden. Outcome was assessed using the QuickDASH questionnaire. Results: In patients operated for CTS, there were more assistant nurses, attendants/care providers/personal assistants, nannies/student assistants, carpenters/bricklayers/construction workers, cleaners, nurses, and vehicle mechanics than in the general population. In the UNE population. assistant nurses and attendants/care providers/personal assistants were overrepresented. Manual workers with CTS scored the preoperative QuickDASH higher than non-manual workers. Conclusions: Manual workers are overrepresented among surgically treated CTS and UNE. Manual workers with CTS have more symptoms preoperatively than non-manual workers.

Automated summary

This study found that certain occupations, especially manual workers, are over-represented among surgically treated carpal tunnel syndrome and ulnar entrapment at the elbow patients. Manual workers with these conditions also tend to have more severe symptoms preoperatively.