Relationship Between Compression Severity and Hand Dexterity, Sleep, Quality of Life, Neuropathic Pain, and Anxiety-Depression in Patients with Carpal and Cubital Tunnel Syndrome

Objective: Carpal and cubital tunnel syndromes are common entrapment neuropathies [1]. Some previous studies showed that carpal tunnel syndrome and, to a lesser extent, cubital tunnel syndrome can impair sleep and quality of life [2-4]. But there are only few studies comparing these two syndromes [5]. However, no study, which evaluates hand dexterity, sleep quality, quality of life, and neuropathic pain in relation to the severity of compression determined by Electroneurography (ENMG) in both syndromes, could be found in the literature. Thus, it was aimed in the present study to investigate the relationship between hand dexterity, sleep quality, quality of life, neuropathic pain, and anxiety-depression symptoms with different levels of compression severity in patients clinically and electro-physiologically diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome and cubital tunnel syndrome. Materials and methods: This study involved patients, who applied to the ENMG laboratory and were18 years or older and clinically and electro-physiologically diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome and cubital tunnel syndrome. The sociodemographic and clinical data of the patients who agreed to participate in the study were recorded. Carpal tunnel syndrome was classified as mild, moderate, and severe by using the American Association of Electrodiagnostic Medicine Classification [12] based on electrophysiological data, whereas the classification of cubital tunnel syndrome was performed by using the electrodiagnostic grading system created by Zeidman and Pandey based on the American Association of Electrodiagnostic Medicine practice guidelines [13]. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index [14,15] and Epworth Sleepiness Scale [16,17] were used in evaluating the sleep quality of the patients, the EuroQuol-5D Quality of Life Scale [18,19] for quality of life, the 4-item neuropathic pain scale [20,21] for neuropathic pain, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale [22,23] for anxiety and depression levels, and the 9-Hole Peg Test [24] for hand dexterity. After the forms were filled in, the data of the patients having carpal tunnel syndrome and those of patients having cubital tunnel syndrome were compared statistically. Moreover, after staging them as mild, moderate, and severe, the findings of patients in both groups were compared within each group, and their relationships were investigated. Results: Sleep disorders, neuropathic pain, depression, and anxiety disorders were observed to be much more prevalent among patients with CTS when compared to the patients with CuTS and the severity of these disorders increases together with an increase in the severity of the disease. It was also determined that CTS patients lag behind CuTS patients in fine motor skills. Conclusion: It should be noted that all of these parameters negatively affect the quality of life of patients. Early physiotherapy and rehabilitation can be beneficial in the treatment of patients and can contribute to their quality of life.