Efficacy of splinting and oral steroids in the treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome: a prospective randomized clinical and electrophysiological study

OBJECTIVE: To study the efficacy of splinting and oral steroids in the management of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). DESIGN: Prospective, randomized, open-label, clinical and electrophysiological study with 3-month follow-up. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty patients with CTS were randomly divided into splint group (N-20), wearing splint in neutral position for 4 weeks; and steroid group (N-20), who received oral prednisolone 20 mg/day for 2 weeks followed by 10 mg/day for 2 weeks. Clinical and electrophysiological evaluations were done at baseline and at 1-month and 3-month follow-up. Independent 't' test and paired 't' test were used for statistical analysis. OUTCOME MEASURES: Primary outcome measure was the symptom severity score and functional status score. Secondary outcome measures were median nerve sensory and motor distal latency and conduction velocity. RESULTS: At the end of 3 months, statistically significant improvement was seen in symptom severity score and functional status score in both groups (P<0.001). Median nerve sensory distal latency and conduction velocity also improved significantly in both the groups at 3 months. Improvement in motor distal latency was significant (P=0.001) at 3 months in steroid group, while insignificant improvement (P=0.139) was observed in splint group. On comparing the clinical and electrophysiological improvement between the two groups, except for the functional status score, there was no significant difference at 3-month follow-up. Improvement in functional status score was significantly more in steroid group (P=0.03). CONCLUSION: There was significant improvement in both groups, clinically as well as electrophysiologically, at 3 months. On comparing the efficacy of the two treatment methods, except for the functional status score, there was no significant difference between the two groups.