Prevalence of carpal tunnel syndrome in patients referred to an Ambulatory Care Unit with trigger finger diagnosis

Abstract

Carpal tunnel syndrome and trigger finger are two relatively common pathologies in the active stage of life, causing ab-senteeism and functional disability. Although these entities have different clinical presentations and frequently coexist on the same hand, their exact cause and interactive rela-tionship are not clear. This article presents a retrospective observational study of patients with a trigger finger diagnosis sent to the evening shift at Unidad Médica de Atención Ambulatoria de Aguascalientes from January 2018 to February 2020 to evaluate the concomitant presence of said diagno-sis and carpal tunnel syndrome. Results: 159 patients were included with a trigger finger diagnosis, with a mean age of 51.8 years. Twenty-six electromyography studies were per-formed to confirm the diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome among patients with a trigger finger, who reported compa-tible symptoms; of those, 19 studies (73%) reported data compatible with the diagnosis, predominantly in women bet-ween 40 and 62 years, with a prevalence of 19.1% in wo-men within this age range. Conclusions: We recommend an intentional search for carpal tunnel syndrome, clinically and/or with electrodiagnostic studies, in women over 40 years of age who present with trigger finger.