Practice Parameter and Literature Review of the Usefulness of ...

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ABSTRACT: The first AAEM Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) Literature Review (1993) evaluated thesensitivity and specificity of nerve conduction studies (NCSs) and needle electromyography (EMG) toconfirm a clinical diagnoses of (CTS) based upon a critical review of 165 articles from the literature throughMay 1991. This new report includes all of the information from the first review and 113 additional articlesfrom the literature through December 2000. The authors concluded that median sensory and motor NCSsare valid and reproducible clinical laboratory studies that confirm the clinical diagnoses of CTS with a highdegree of sensitivity (>85%) and specificity (>95%) and that the clinical practice recommendationspublished in 1993 remain valid. Needle EMG studies were not as sensitive or specific as NCSs to diagnoseCTS although they are useful to document axonal nerve pathology. In future research studies to evaluatethe usefulness of NCSs and needle EMGs to diagnose CTS, the authors recommend that (1) the physicianperforming and interpreting the NCS and needle EMGs be blinded to the diagnosis of the subjects (normal,CTS patient, or disease control) to avoid observer bias and (2) the clinical diagnosis of CTS be madeaccording to a new set of consensus clinical diagnostic criteria presented in this report to provide a moreuniform population of CTS patients.SECOND AAEM LITERATURE REVIEW OF THE USEFULNESS OF NERVECONDUCTION STUDIES AND NEEDLE ELECTROMYOGRAPHY FOR THEEVALUATION OF PATIENTS WITH CARPAL TUNNEL SYNDROMECharles K. Jablecki MD, Michael T. Andary, MD, MS, Mary Kay Floeter, MD, PhD, Robert G. Miller, MD,Caroline A. Quartly, MD, FRCP(C) Michael J. Vennix, MD, John R. Wilson, MDINTRODUCTIONCarpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is a common clinicalproblem and a frequent diagnosis of patients referred forevaluation in electrodiagnostic medicine (EDX)laboratories. In Rochester, MN, the prevalence of CTS wasestimated at 88 per 100,000 in 1961 to 1965 and at 125 per100,000 in 1976 to 1980. 245 In 1988, there were 51 cases per100,000 in Santa Clara County, California, of which 47%were work related. 186Most physicians agree that the accuracy of the diagnosesand the care and management of patients with symptomsand signs of CTS are improved by the performance of EDXstudies which increases the likelihood of the correctdiagnosis of CTS. 20,29,55,56,95,139,205 Those physicians believethat a definite diagnosis of CTS cannot be based solely onsubjective complaints (e.g., pain, paresthesia), subjectivefindings, (e.g., Tinel’s sign, Phalen’s sign, sensory deficit)and voluntary effort (e.g., weakness) because there are other________________________________________________This review was developed for the AAEM by the CTS Task Force themembers of which are listed as the authors of this review. The 1993document was developed by the members of the AAEM QualityAssurance Committee: Chair Charles K. Jablecki, MD; Members:Michael T. Andary, MD, MS; Yuen T. So, MD, PhD; Dennis E.Wilkins, MD; and Faren H. Williams, MD.Key Words: carpal tunnel syndrome • diagnosis • neural conduction •electromyography • literature review • reference values • sensitivity •specificityAddress correspondence to CK. Jablecki;, jablecki@post.harvard.eduTo purchase the document contact AAEM; aaem@aaem.net.common disorders (e.g., cervical radiculopathy, tendonitis)which have similar signs and symptoms or that may coexistwith CTS. In addition, there is a high incidence (20% orgreater) of Tinel’s sign and Phalen’s sign in normalsubjects. 227,230,246 The accuracy of the diagnosis of CTS isimportant because the diagnosis often leads to surgicalrelease of the carpal ligament in patients whose symptomsare refractory to non-operative therapy. If the symptoms arenot due to CTS, then the patient is unlikely to benefit fromsurgery.The sensitivity and specificity of nerve conduction studies(NCSs) and needle electromyography (EMG) for thediagnosis of CTS were evaluated by a critical review of themedical literature published in 1993. 109 The 1993 CTSLiterature Review 109 provided the evidence base for thePractice Parameters for Electrodiagnostic Studies in CTS 7which was endorsed by the American Association ofElectrodiagnostic Medicine (AAEM), the AmericanAcademy of Neurology (AAN), and the AmericanAcademy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation(AAPMR). Furthermore, the recommendation that futureclinical research studies should meet the 6 AAEM CTSliterature classification criteria (hereafter referred to as theliterature inclusion criteria [LIC]) published in 1993 hasbeen described as a goal of several subsequent studies ofEDX tests in CTS. 59,75,91,140,188,189,221,237,254In the 1993 report, it was recommended that the report bereviewed and updated periodically. The AAEM formed a924
Practice Parameter: Carpal Tunnel Syndromesecond CTS Task Force in 2000 to update the 1993 reportand to provide a single reference for EDX studies in CTS byincluding the information from the 1993 publication alongwith the additional information from a systematic review ofarticles published in English through December 2000.Based on a systematic review of the literature, thisdocument addresses the following key clinical questions:1. In patients clinically suspected of having CTS, whatare the best EDX studies to confirm the diagnosis?2. What improvements can be made to future clinicalresearch studies to evaluate the usefulness oflaboratory studies, including EDX studies, toconfirm the diagnosis of CTS?AAEM CTS LITERATURE INCLUSION CRITERIAIn the fall of 1991, the AAEM Quality Assurance (QA)Committee adopted 6 criteria of scientific methodologyto evaluate CTS literature describing EDX procedures.The AAEM CTS Task Force used the same 6 AAEMCTS LIC to update this report. The first 2 criteria applyto all studies of diagnostic tests and deal with the qualityof evidence and reducing bias; the remaining 4 criteriadeal with technical and analytic issues that are critical tothe use of NCS to document nerve pathology. All ofthese criteria are important for a study to determinewhether or not an NCS is useful to diagnose CTS.1. Prospective study design. A prospective studydesign permits uniform collection and analysis ofdata.2.Diagnosis of CTS in patient population based onclinical criteria independent of the EDXprocedure under evaluation. Use of clinicalcriteria for the diagnosis of CTS permitsidentification of a defined population in which totest the sensitivity of the EDX procedure toconfirm the diagnosis of CTS. The clinicalcriteria include a history of nocturnal andactivity-related pain and paresthesia in theaffected hand, reproduction of the paresthesiawith maneuvers that stress the median nerve inthe carpal tunnel (Phalen’s sign/wrist flexion,reverse Phalen’s sign/wrist extension, Tinel’ssign/percussion of the wrist, carpal tunnelcompression test), sensory deficit limited to thedistribution of the median nerve passing throughthe carpal tunnel, and weakness and/or atrophylimited to the median innervated muscles in thethenar eminence. 1,12,244details of the EDX procedure are necessary (1)to verify the results and (2) to use the procedurein other clinical laboratories.4. Limb temperature monitored (measuredcontinuously) during nerve conductionprocedures and minimum (or range) of limbtemperatures reported for both CTS patients andthe reference population. The speed of sensoryand motor nerve conduction is temperaturedependent. The use of temperature correctionfactors to adjust nerve conduction velocity (CV)measurements made in cool limbs of CTSpatients to a reference temperature iscontroversial and not recommended. 10,14,185. Reference values for the EDX test obtainedeithera. with concomitant studies of a referencepopulation, orb. with previous studies of a referencepopulation in the same laboratory.The results of the EDX procedure in a referencepopulation are necessary to determine thespecificity of the results of the EDX procedurein CTS patients.6. Criteria for abnormal findings clearly statedand, if the measurement is a quantitative one,the abnormal value is defined in statisticallycomputed terms, e.g., range and mean ± 2standard deviations, from data derived from thereference population. Use of standard statisticalterms permits computation of the sensitivity andspecificity of the EDX procedure andcomparison of the procedure to other EDX andnon-EDX tests for CTS.Description of the Review ProcessThe 6 AAEM CTS LIC were listed on a review sheetfollowed by “yes” or “no” answers to be circled by thereviewer to indicate whether or not an article fulfilledeach criterion; each article was reviewed independentlyby 2 reviewers and the results were discussed until aconsensus was reached if there was a difference inscoring. The articles were then ranked by the number ofcriteria met. Table 1 lists those articles meeting 4, 5, or 6of the AAEM CTS LIC.EDX studies of only normal subjects could meet amaximum of 5 of the 6 AAEM CTS LIC because thesestudies do not contain CTS patients (criterion 2).3. EDX procedure described in sufficient detail topermit replication of the procedure. SpecificMuscle & Nerve Supplement X 2002 S925
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