Work-Related Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
- Peter A. Nathan, MD
Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text.
Excerpt
To the Editor.— The article entitled "Occupational Disease Surveillance: Carpal Tunnel Syndrome"1 presents a three-part surveillance case definition for work-related carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). The article suggests that occupational hand activities are a significant risk factor for CTS.
According to the article, 47% of CTS cases reported in Santa Clara County, California, in 1987 were believed, by the responding providers, to be work related. This means that the majority, or 53%, were not believed to be work related. No surveillance case definition was presented to help the reader understand why the latter cases fell outside the work-related CTS category. In the absence of this information, the reader might assume that the mere performance of certain types of occupational hand activities equates with work-related CTS.
Carpal tunnel syndrome is a widely prevalent condition, and a surveillance study of any segment of the adult population will likely yield the finding of
