Abstract
Background Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is the most common entrapment neuropathy which can cause
severe sleep disturbance. Carpal tunnel release (CTR) is a choice for severe cases,
which has shown to improve sleep quality, but the available evidence is limited. This
study aimed to investigate the impact of CTR on sleep quality and hand symptoms and
functions in patients with CTS.
Methods This was a prospective study in 2019–2020 on patients with CTS and poor sleep quality
undergoing CTR. Patients were evaluated before and at 1, 3, and 12 months after CTR
by the Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI) and Boston carpal tunnel syndrome questionnaires.
Results There were 33 patients with 27 females (82%) and a median age of 51 years. The median
time of CTS diagnosis and having sleep disorder before CTR were 12 and 6 months, respectively.
The outcomes significantly improved after CTR, with the median PSQI and Boston symptom
and function scores reduced from 12, 33, and 23 before CTR to 9, 14, and 11 at 1 month;
7, 13, and 9 at 3 months; and 1, 11, and 8 at 12 months postoperatively, respectively.
The correlations between the PSQI and Boston symptom and function scores were > 0.6
at all time-points.
Conclusions Surgical decompression significantly improves sleep quality and the hand symptoms
and functions in patients with CTS. Long-term evaluations are lacking and thus are
required in future studies.
Keywords Carpal tunnel syndrome - Carpal tunnel release - Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index -
Boston Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Questionnaire
