OBJECTIVETo search for an effective therapy for carpal tunnel syndrome in early stage.

METHODSSixty cases were randomly divided into an observation group 1 (21 cases), an observation group 2 (22 cases) and a basic treatment group (17 cases). The patients in three groups were treated with oral administration of Vitamin B1, Vitamin B12, compound Vitamin B and small splint for wrist protection as basic treatment, and the observation group 1 was also treated with acupuncture on local points as Laogong (PC 8), Yuji (LU 10), Hegu (LI 4) and Waiguan (TE 5) etc. combined with TDP irradiation, and the observation group 2 was treated with herbal steaming and washing on the affected part using Safflower and Lopseed etc. Electromyography, visual analogue scale (VAS) and clinical effect of three groups were observed before and after treatment.

RESULTSThe changes of electromyogra phy had no significant difference before and after treatment in all groups (all P > 0.05), the VAS scores in two ob servation groups were superior to that in basic treatment group (both P < 0.05). The excellent and good rates were 90.5% and 86.4% in the observation group 1 and the observation group 2 respectively, both higher than that of 64.7% in the basic treatment group.

CONCLUSIONAcupunture combined with TDP irradiation and Chinese herbal steaming and washing therapy both have significant therapeutic effects for treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome in early stage.

Acupuncture Therapy ; Adult ; Aged ; Carpal Tunnel Syndrome ; drug therapy ; radiotherapy ; therapy ; Combined Modality Therapy ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Radiotherapy

No abstract available.
Alcohol Drinking/adverse effects ; Carpal Tunnel Syndrome/diagnosis/*etiology ; Gout/*complications/diagnosis/drug therapy ; Gout Suppressants/therapeutic use ; Humans ; Male ; Risk Factors ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

The aim of this study was to assess and validate the Korean version of the Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire (K-BCTQ) in patients with carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). After translation and cultural adaptation of the BCTQ to a Korean version, the K-BCTQ was administered to 54 patients with CTS; it was administered again after 2 weeks to assess reliability. Additionally, we administered K-DASH and EQ-5D to assess construct-validity. In a prospective study of responsiveness to clinical change, 29 of 54 patients were treated by ultrasonography-guided local corticosteroid injection therapy. The internal consistency of the K-BCTQ was high (Cronbach's alpha: 0.915) and the intra-class correlation coefficients were 0.931 for the symptom severity scale (P<0.001) and 0.844 for the functional severity scale (P<0.001). The construct-validity between the symptom severity scale and the K-DASH, and between the functional severity scale and the K-DASH were significantly correlated (both P<0.001). Clinical improvement was noted in 29 patients with injection therapy. The effect size of symptom severity was 0.67, and that of functional severity was 0.58. In conclusion, the K-BCTQ shows good reliability, construct-validity, and acceptable responsiveness after local corticosteroid injection therapy (Clinical trial number, KCT0000050).
Adrenal Cortex Hormones/*administration & dosage ; Carpal Tunnel Syndrome/*drug therapy ; Disability Evaluation ; Humans ; Injections ; Outcome Assessment (Health Care) ; Prospective Studies ; *Questionnaires ; Republic of Korea ; Severity of Illness Index ; Triamcinolone Acetonide/*administration & dosage ; Ultrasonography