Infrared thermographic changes after decompression surgery in patients with carpal tunnel syndrome

BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders

Research

Man Su Kim¹  Jae Man Cho¹  Heum Dai Kwon¹  Joong Won Yang¹  Yoon Sik Eom²  Yeo Eun Park³  Jang Woo Lee³  Sang-Eok Lee⁴  Dougho Park⁵ 

[1] Department of Neurosurgery, Pohang Stroke and Spine Hospital, 37659, Pohang, Republic of Korea;Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Pohang Stroke and Spine Hospital, 37659, Pohang, Republic of Korea;Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, National Health Insurance Service Ilsan Hospital, 10444, Goyang, Republic of Korea;Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Pohang Stroke and Spine Hospital, 37659, Pohang, Republic of Korea;Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Pohang Stroke and Spine Hospital, 37659, Pohang, Republic of Korea;Department of Medical Science and Engineering, School of Convergence Science and Technology, Pohang University of Science and Technology, Pohang, Republic of Korea;

关键词: Carpal tunnel release;    Carpal tunnel syndrome;    Temperature;    Thermography;    Vasomotor activity;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12891-023-06193-4

 received in 2022-08-31, accepted in 2023-01-24,  发布年份 2023

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundDigital infrared thermal imaging (DITI), which detects infrared rays emitted from body surface to create a body heat map, has been utilized at various musculocutaneous conditions. Notably, DITI can demonstrate autonomic vasomotor activity in the nerve-innervated area, and thus may be of use in carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). In this study, we compared DITI findings before and after carpal tunnel release (CTR) surgery in patients with unilateral CTS to investigate the corresponding neurophysiological changes.MethodsIn this retrospective cohort study, DITI parameters such as the temperature differences between the median and ulnar nerve territories and median nerve-innervated digital anisometry were measured. Subjective symptom duration, pain scale, and ultrasonographic findings were also compared before and after CTR. Patients were evaluated before and 6 weeks after CTR, respectively.ResultsA total of 27 patients aged 59.0 ± 11.2 years were finally included. After CTR, median nerve-innervated thermal anisometry was improved (2.55 ± 0.96 °C to 1.64 ± 1.34 °C; p = 0.003). The temperature differences between the median and ulnar nerve territories were not significantly changed. Subjective pain, the Simovic Weinberg Clinical Scale, and palmar bowing of the flexor retinaculum were also significantly improved (p <  0.001 for all comparisons).ConclusionsOur results demonstrated that DITI findings could reflect an improvement in autonomic function after CTR. Therefore, DITI can be an objective method to assess pre- and post-operative neurophysiologic changes in CTS.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s) 2023