gms | German Medical Science

Objectives/Interrogation: The controversy has been considerable regarding the incidence of familial occurrence of carpal tunnel syndrome. Single families have been reported where the most of members have been affected and the results of some population-based studies showed a higher incidence of the condition among relatives of some patients. The objective of this study was to investigate the incidence of familial carpal tunnel syndrome in patients admitted to the authors' institution for carpal tunnel release.

Methods: Questionnaires completed at baseline clinical examination by 120 patients with CTS admitted to the authors' institution between December 2017 and March 2018 (4 months) were reviewed. Informed consent was obtained from all subjects before enrolment. There were 92 women (77%) and 28 men (23%) at a mean age of 56 years (range 33-84). Basic demographic and clinical information was recorded in the questionnaire. All participants were then asked whether they knew of one or more family members with carpal tunnel syndrome. In the event of a positive answer, patients were asked to indicate who of the relatives were affected, when the disease was diagnosed, which hand was involved and how they were treated.

Results and Conclusions: Familial occurrence of the disease was noted in 21 patients (17%): 16 women and 5 men. Three family members were affected in 3 patients, two relatives in 8 patients and one relative in 10 patients, giving a total of 35 affected relatives. The patients' sisters (n=16) were the most commonly involved, followed by mothers (n=12), daughters (n=2), brothers (n=2), grandmothers (n=2) and an aunt (n=1). Bilateral manifestation of the disease was noted in 19 patients (90%) and in 31 (88%) of their affected relatives. The results suggest that carpal tunnel syndrome shows moderate tendency to familial occurrence and if so, it usually manifests bilaterally.