[Carpal tunnel syndrome in infants].

Abstract

We have observed and operated on 5 children at the age of 15 months to 6 years for carpal tunnel syndrome. 4 children, all belonging to the same family had bilateral median nerve compression syndrome. These 4 children also suffered from bilateral tenosynovitis, and a mild form of mucopoolysaccharidosis (M. Scheie) was diagnosed. The symptoms in all 5 children were uncharacteristic and initially difficult to associate with nerve compression at first. Numbness and dysaesthesia in the thumb, index and middle finger, the most frequent signs in adult patients, were missing. In these children, the observation of general manual clumsiness, unusual patterns of grasping, sudden change in playing habits with avoidance of manual activity led to the suspicion of a median nerve compression syndrome. In all children decompression of the median nerve resulted in normalization or marked improvement of hand function.