Does prior local corticosteroid injection prejudice the outcome of subsequent carpal tunnel decompression?

What is it about?

Both injection of steroids at the wrist and surgery are used to treat carpal tunnel syndrome. This study attempts to establish whether trying injection first prejudices the outcome of surgery for those patients who end up having the operation anyway. The answer is that it does not.

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Why is it important?

Many surgeons believe that the use of steroid injection at the wrist for carpal tunnel is a waste of time, because all patients will eventually need surgery anyway. One of the arguments deployed for immediate surgery is the suggestion that the condition will deteriorate and become irretrievable if it not operated on as the primary treatment. Demonstrating that this is not the case can potentially spare some patients surgery which they might not need, and which is not entirely free of side effects and problems.

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