Quality of Care and Patient-Reported Outcomes in Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
A Prospective Observational Study
Published in: Muscle & Nerve [Epub December 2017]. doi: 10.1002/mus.26041
Posted on RAND.org on February 13, 2018
Introduction
Higher quality care for carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) may be associated with better outcomes.
Methods
This prospective observational study recruited adults diagnosed with CTS from 30 occupational health centers, evaluated physicians' adherence to recommended care processes, and assessed results of the Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire (BCTQ) and Short Form Health Survey version 2 (SF-12v2) at recruitment and at 18 months.
Results
Among 343 individuals, receiving better care (80th vs. 20th percentile for adherence) was associated with greater improvements in BCTQ Symptom Severity scores (-0.18, 95% confidence interval [CI] -0.32 to -0.05), BCTQ Functional Status scores (-0.21, 95% CI -0.34 to -0.08), and SF12-v2 Physical Component scores (1.75, 95% CI 0.33-3.16). Symptoms improved more when physicians assessed and managed activity, patients underwent necessary surgery, and employers adjusted job tasks.
Discussion
Efforts should be made to ensure that patients with CTS receive essential care processes including necessary surgery and activity assessment and management.
This report is part of the RAND Corporation External publication series. Many RAND studies are published in peer-reviewed scholarly journals, as chapters in commercial books, or as documents published by other organizations.
The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit institution that helps improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis. RAND's publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors.