Patient satisfaction following carpal-tunnel decompression: a comparison of patients with and without osteoarthritis of the wrist.

The aim of this study was to assess whether surgical decompression for carpal-tunnel syndrome (CTS) in the presence of primary or secondary osteoarthritis of the wrist is associated with poorer patient satisfaction. We did a retrospective matched cohort study. Twenty-four patients who underwent surgical decompression for CTS secondary to osteoarthritis were identified by reviewing the notes and the radiographs. A control group consisted of 24 patients without osteoarthritis of the wrist who underwent carpal-tunnel decompression. The control group was matched for age, sex, side, and neuro-physiological severity of the nerve compression. In the group with osteoarthritis of the wrist, 17 (71%) patients reported their symptom relief as satisfactory, and 7 (29%) reported the results as unsatisfactory. In the control group, 23 (96%) patients reported their symptom relief as satisfactory, and 1 (4%) reported the results as unsatisfactory (P=0.0325). In conclusion, patient satisfaction following surgical decompression in patients with secondary CTS due to osteoarthritis was significantly lower compared to patients without osteoarthritis of the wrist.