Purpose
Carpal tunnel syndrome and trigger finger (TF) frequently present concomitantly; some
studies suggest that carpal tunnel release (CTR) is a risk factor for the development
of ipsilateral TF in the postoperative period. The primary objective of this study
was to elucidate the relationship between CTR and the subsequent development of TF.
Methods
A retrospective study was conducted of 1,386 hands in 1,140 patients who underwent
primary CTR at a tertiary referral center from July 2008 to June 2013. After exclusion
of cases in which contralateral CTR was performed within the first postoperative year
after ipsilateral CTR, conditional logistic regression was performed in 906 hands
in 890 patients to determine the association between CTR and TF in the first postoperative
year in the operative hand compared with the contralateral hand. Conditional logistic
regression and Poisson regression were performed in 1,386 hands in 1,140 patients
to examine the association between CTR and TF in the year before surgery compared
with the year after surgery. Multivariable regression analysis was used to determine
associated risk factors.
Results
Of 1,386 hands, a new TF was seen in 147 (10.6%) within 1 year before CTR and 81 (5.8%)
within 1 year after CTR. The occurrence of postoperative TF was associated with 2.5
times higher odds in the operative hand compared with the contralateral hand in the
conditional logistic regression model of 906 cases. However, the incidence of TF was
associated with 0.5 times lower odds during the year after CTR compared with the year
before CTR in both conditional logistic regression and Poisson regression models of
1,386 cases. Increased body mass index is statistically associated with TF after CTR,
but the attributable risk is negligible.
Conclusions
There is a predisposition for these 2 common hand pathologies to present in the same
hand; however, patients can be counseled that CTR does not cause new incidence of
TF in the operative hand.
Type of study/level of evidence
Prognostic IV.
Key words
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: November 06, 2018
Accepted:
October 3,
2018
Received:
March 12,
2018
Footnotes
No benefits in any form have been received or will be received related directly or indirectly to the subject of this article.
Identification
Copyright
© 2019 by the American Society for Surgery of the Hand. All rights reserved.
