Systematic review and pooled analysis of the rate of carpal tunnel syndrome after prophylactic carpal tunnel release in patients with a distal radius fracture.

The aim of this study was to determine the rate of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) in patients with a volar plated distal radius fracture (DRF), with or without prophylactic carpal tunnel release (CTR). The PubMed database was searched for studies reporting on CTS in patients with a DRF fixed by a volar plate. Selected patients were those who underwent prophylactic CTR versus patients who did not. Pooled rates of CTS were calculated using inverse - variance weighting assuming a random effects model. Tests for heterogeneity were applied. In this study, 172 patients in the CTR group and 1839 patients in the non-CTR group were included. The pooled rate for CTS in the CTR group was 28.1% (95% CI: 11.8% to 48.2%) while it was 4.4% (95% CI: 3.1% to 6.0%) in the non-CTR group. CTR is of no prophylactic value for postoperative CTS in volar plated DRF patients.