Is carpal tunnel syndrome a slow, chronic, progressive nerve entrapment?

•Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) was more severe in elderly patients than in younger people.•The frequency of CTS diagnosis among Neurophysiological Studies performed increased with ageing up to 60 years of age.•Bilateral CTS was more severe than when presenting unilaterally.

ObjectiveThe aim of this study is to investigate the presenting profile of patients with carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) at various ages.MethodsWe performed a cross-sectional study of CTS, analysing the correlation between severity and age.ResultsWe examined 3108 subjects with CTS, whose frequency increased from 20.9% for the age group 20–29 years to 61.7% for the age group 50–59 years. It remained at almost 50% in people aged over 80 years (49.2%). More than 50% of people younger than 30 years had mild CTS. Severe CTS progressively increased, reaching more than 50% of the CTS diagnoses in people over 80 years. Of the total number of cases, 80.8% of subjects had bilateral CTS. Mild NCS–EMG abnormalities were seen in 74.1% of patients with unilateral involvement, whereas moderate and severe CTS appeared in 70.3% of patients with bilateral involvement.ConclusionThere was a clear trend of deterioration with advancing years when comparing severity to age.SignificanceCTS seems to be a chronic condition whose signs and symptoms may vary and progress, becoming worse over time.