OBJECTIVES: To compare the out-of-plane (OP) and in-plane (IP) approaches for carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) in terms of pain during injection and postinjection adverse effects, and to investigate whether these approaches led to any difference in terms of pain/numbness, symptom severity, functionality, and median nerve cross-sectional area and to examine the relationship of these parameters with the pain during injection.
DESIGN: Patient/assessor-blinded randomized study.
SETTING: Hospital outpatient clinic.
PARTICIPANTS: Fifty patients with mild-to-moderate CTS.
INTERVENTIONS: The participants were randomized into OP and IP (both n=25) ultrasound-guided injection groups.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Each patient reported the pain felt during the injection at 1 hour thereafter, and also any adverse effects at 4 weeks after injection. Before and 4 weeks after injection, patients used a visual analog scale to indicate pain/numbness; symptom severity and functionality were assessed using the Boston Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Questionnaire. The cross-sectional area of the median nerve was also obtained.
RESULTS: The average pain during injection was 2.64��0.82 in the IP group and 1.96��0.86 in the OP group (P=.017). Postinjection adverse effects were similar between the 2 groups (P<.05). After injection, the percentage change in symptom severity was 49.8��11.8 in the IP group and 40.6��11.5 in the OP group (P=.008). In the IP group, day preinjection pain/numbness, night pain/numbness percentage change scores, and symptom severity percentage change scores were moderately correlated with the pain during injection (r=.439, .469, and .429, respectively).
CONCLUSIONS: IP injection caused greater pain during injection than OP injection and led to greater reduction in symptom severity at 1 month after injection. In that group, injection pain was associated with the baseline day pain score, change in night pain score, and change in symptom severity score.
