Carpal Tunnel Decompression Surgery Outcome and Effect of Diabetes

Objective: The benefits of carpal tunnel decompressive surgery (CTDS) among diabetic patients with carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) were previously investigated through comparing the outcome before and after CTDS, and in comparison to nondiabetic CTS. We sought to investigate if diabetes mitigates the benefits of CTDS compared to not receiving CTDS. Methods: In this retrospective study, we compared the risk of reporting any unfavorable outcomes among CTS patients (diabetic and nondiabetic) who underwent CTDS versus no CTDS after controlling for diabetes. We also compared the risk of reporting any unfavorable outcomes (waking up at night, pain during the day or during daily activities, or hand weakness) among diabetic CTS patients who underwent CTDS versus no CTDS after controlling for severity. Results: We included 207 patients; of these, 105 patients had CTDS and 102 did not. There were 60 diabetic and 147 nondiabetic patients. The risk of any unfavorable outcomes was reduced by CTDS from 83.3 to 66.6%, with an odds ratio (OR), after controlling for diabetes, of 0.39 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.20-0.78). Among diabetic patients, there was no difference between the CTDS and non-CTDS groups in the risk of reporting any unfavorable outcomes; however, after adjustment for severity, the risk of hand weakness was less with CTDS, with an OR of 0.13 (95% CI 0.02-0.86). Conclusion: Diabetes did not mitigate the benefits of CTDS. CTDS may prevent hand weakness among diabetic CTS patients.