The symptoms and signs caused by compression of median nerve as it passes from the forearm to the palm is known as the carpal tunnel syndrome. Generally, it is the most common entrapment neuropathy seen in EMG laboratories. In the EMG laboratory
of
Pusan Paik Hospital , 112 patients with 189 cases were diagnosed during the period from January 1988 to Augus6t 1992, and analysed for clinical manifestations and nerve conduction study. The following results were obtained :
1. Among 112 patients, 11 (9.8%) were men and 101 (90.2%) were women.
2. The syndrome occured on theright side in 16 patients, on the left in 19 patients, and on both in 77 patients.
3. The predisopsing factors included diabetes mellitus (12.5%), cervical radivulopathy (9.3%), Parkinson's disease (2.1%), tuberculous tenosinovitis (1.0%), hypothyroidism (1.0%) and unknown (74.0%) from which the nonsymptomatic diabetes
mellitus
zwere
excluded.
4. Thingling (87.5%), was most common symptom followed by pain (25.0%), night pain (18.8%), shoulder pain (12.5%) and swelling (4.2%). Tinel sign (68.8%) was the most common sign followed by positive Phalen test, thenar atrophy, hypesthesia and
weakness.
5. In the sensory nerve conduction study, 179 cases (94.7%) showed abnormal findings, while the in motor nerve conduction study, 148 cases (78.3%) did.
6. There was no significant difference between the sensory nerve conduction study using the Palm-Wrist segment and and the routine method Finger-Wrist segment.
7. The nerve conduction test using phalen unethod inas not better than the conventional nerve conduction test
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