Use of screening blood tests in patients with carpal tunnel syndrome
- Correspondence to: Dr Jeremy D P Bland East Kent Hospitals NHS Trust, Neurophysiology, EEG Department, Ethelbert Road, Canterbury CT1 3NG, UK; jbland{at}cix.compulink.co.uk
- Published Online First 10 November 2006
Is it is worth performing screening investigations in patients with carpal tunnel syndrome without clinical evidence of other diseases?
Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) has a fair claim to being the world’s commonest neurological disorder. The way in which it is investigated and treated has substantial economic consequences. One aspect of this is addressed by de Rijk and colleagues1 in this issue of the journal—the utility of screening blood tests in patients with CTS (see p 635). The suggestion that such investigation may not be worthwhile is not new.2 Screening is predicated on the belief that CTS is often secondary to medical disease and CTS …
