Clin Pain.  2019 Dec;18(2):70-75. 10.35827/cp.2019.18.2.70.

Diagnostic Usefulness of Digital Infrared Thermal Image in Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

• Park J
• Lee JW
• Lee SE
• Kim BH
• Park D

• KMID: 2470350
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.35827/cp.2019.18.2.70

Abstract

OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the usefulness of infrared thermography in patients with carpal tunnel syndrome by comparing with electrodiagnostic and ultrasonographic findings. METHOD: From January 2014 to October 2017, electrodiagnosis, ultrasound, and digital infrared thermal image (DITI) of unilateral carpal tunnel syndrome diagnosed in a single hospital were retrospectively analyzed. The subjects with bilateral symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome, peripheral vascular disease, diabetes, thyroid disease, fibromyalgia, rheumatic disease, systemic infection, inflammation, malignant tumor, and other musculoskeletal disorders such as finger osteoarthritis, peripheral neuropathy, cervical radiculopathy, and the previous history of surgery were excluded.
RESULTS
Of 53 patients diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome, 11 were male and 42 were female. The visual analogue scale was 4.9 ± 1.9, and the duration of symptom was 11.8 ± 12.5 months. There was no statistically significant difference in the body surface temperature between the unaffected and affected sides. The severity of symptoms, electrodiagnostic findings, and cross-sectional area of the median nerve significantly correlates to each other. The temperature difference between the second fingers of the affected and unaffected sides showed a weak correlation with the amplitude of sensory nerve action potential and onset latency of compound muscle action potential, when there was no significant correlation with the other parameters.
CONCLUSION
The difference in temperature on the surface of the body, which can be confirmed by DITI, is little diagnostic value when DITI is performed in unilateral carpal tunnel syndrome patients, especially when compared with ultrasonography.

Keyword

Carpal tunnel syndrome; Thermography; Electrodiagnosis; Ultrasonography

MeSH Terms

Action Potentials
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome*
Electrodiagnosis
Female
Fibromyalgia
Fingers
Humans
Inflammation
Male
Median Nerve
Methods
Osteoarthritis
Peripheral Nervous System Diseases
Peripheral Vascular Diseases
Radiculopathy
Retrospective Studies
Rheumatic Diseases
Thermography
Thyroid Diseases
Ultrasonography