Cochrane · systematic review · CD001552
Surgical versus non‐surgical treatment for carpal tunnel syndrome
Lusa, V, Karjalainen, TV, Pääkkönen, M, et al. · Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews · 2024 · Cochrane Library
NeuromuscularAMSTAR 2: not assessed
SoF tableOnly the outcomes this review put in its Summary of Findings table are listed (the Cochrane Handbook caps them at about seven per comparison). Its other analyses are not shown here.
Questions
14
current version
GRADE rated
12
No studies
2
Included studies
NR
No studies 2 · 14.3%Ungraded 0 · 0%Very low 5 · 35.7%Low 1 · 7.1%Moderate 6 · 42.9%High 0 · 0%
Ungraded means an effect was reported without a GRADE rating; it is not a gap. No studies means the review found nothing to answer the question. The six categories are a display order, not a score.
Questions and results
Surgery compared to splint for carpal tunnel syndrome in the long term
Population: people with carpal tunnel syndrome
| Outcome | Effect | Evidence | Status / GRADE |
|---|---|---|---|
Clinical improvement ‐ Long‐term improvement: > 3 months Surgery vs splint | RR 2.1 [1.04, 4.24] | 3 studies · 210 participants | Moderate Downgraded: risk of bias |
Symptoms (Boston CTS questionnaire) ‐ Long‐term improvement: > 3 monthsScale: 1 to 5, higher is worse Surgery vs splint | no estimate extracted | 2 studies · 195 participants | Moderate Downgraded: risk of bias |
Function (Boston CTS questionnaire) ‐ Long‐term improvement: > 3 monthsScale: 1 to 5, higher is worse Surgery vs splint | no estimate extracted | 2 studies · 195 participants | Moderate Downgraded: risk of bias |
Pain ‐ Long‐term improvement: > 3 months Surgery vs splint | no estimate extracted | NR | No studies |
Health‐related quality of life (EQ‐5D) ‐ Long‐term improvement: > 3 months Scale: 0 to 1, higher is better Surgery vs splint | no estimate extracted | 1 study · 167 participants | Low Downgraded: risk of bias, imprecision |
Adverse effects Surgery vs splint | RR 2.11 [0.37, 12.12] | 2 studies · 210 participants | Very low Downgraded: risk of bias, imprecision |
Need for surgery or secondary surgery during Surgery vs splint | RR 0.03 [0, 0.21] | 2 studies · 176 participants | Moderate Downgraded: risk of bias |
Surgery compared to corticosteroid injection for carpal tunnel syndrome in the long term
Population: people with carpal tunnel syndrome
| Outcome | Effect | Evidence | Status / GRADE |
|---|---|---|---|
Clinical improvement ‐ Long‐term improvement: > 3 months Surgery vs corticosteroid injection | RR 1.23 [0.73, 2.06] | 3 studies · 187 participants | Very low Downgraded: risk of bias, imprecision, inconsistency |
Symptoms ‐ Long‐term improvement: > 3 months Surgery vs corticosteroid injection | no estimate extracted | 2 studies · 118 participants | Very low Downgraded: risk of bias, imprecision, inconsistency |
Function ‐ Long‐term improvement: > 3 months Surgery vs corticosteroid injection | no estimate extracted | 2 studies · 191 participants | Moderate Downgraded: risk of bias |
Pain (VAS) ‐ Long‐term improvement: > 3 monthsScale: 0 to 100, higher is worse Surgery vs corticosteroid injection | no estimate extracted | 1 study · 123 participants | Moderate Downgraded: risk of bias |
Health‐related quality of life ‐ Long‐term improvement: > 3 months Surgery vs corticosteroid injection | no estimate extracted | NR | No studies |
Adverse effects Surgery vs corticosteroid injection | RR 1.49 [0.25, 8.7] | 2 studies · 90 participants | Very low Downgraded: risk of bias, imprecision |
Need for surgery or secondary surgery during Surgery vs corticosteroid injection | RR 0.61 [0.25, 1.46] | 1 study · 163 participants | Very low Downgraded: risk of bias, imprecision |