Trial reportBMC musculoskeletal disorders2006
Surgery is more cost-effective than splinting for carpal tunnel syndrome in the Netherlands: results of an economic evaluation alongside a randomized controlled trial.
Trial report in BMC musculoskeletal disorders, 2006. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 23 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
23 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 63 citations in OpenAlex.
- Surgical versus non-surgical treatment for carpal tunnel syndrome.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2024Pooled it
- Outcome Metrics in the Treatment of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: A Systematic Review.Hand (New York, N.Y.) · 2022Pooled it
- Cost-utility studies in upper limb orthopaedic surgery: a systematic review of published literature.The bone & joint journal · 2018Pooled it
- A systematic review of randomised controlled trials assessing effectiveness of prosthetic and orthotic interventions.PloS one · 2018Pooled it
- Efficacy, safety, and cost of surgical versus nonsurgical treatment for carpal tunnel syndrome: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Medicine · 2016Pooled it
- Does Societal Cost Information Affect Patient Decision-Making in Carpal Tunnel Syndrome? A Randomized Controlled Trial.Hand (New York, N.Y.) · 2021Trial
- Return-to-Work After Carpal Tunnel Release Across Surgical Techniques: A Narrative Review.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2026Review
- Calculating Value in Hand and Wrist Care: A Systematic Review on the Current Literature.Journal of hand surgery global online · 2025Article
- Article
- Article
- A Systematic Review of Health State Utility Values in the Plastic Surgery Literature.Plastic and reconstructive surgery. Global open · 2021Article
- Electrodiagnostic Studies in the Surgical Treatment of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome-A Systematic Review.Journal of clinical medicine · 2021Review
- The Direct and Indirect Costs to Society of Carpal Tunnel Release.Hand (New York, N.Y.) · 2020Article
- Treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome with wrist splinting: study protocol for a randomized placebo-controlled trial.Trials · 2019Article
- Analysis of Expected Costs of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Treatment Strategies.Hand (New York, N.Y.) · 2019Article
- Is one-stop surgery for carpal tunnel syndrome safe? A retrospective long-term follow-up study in a neurosurgical unit in Copenhagen.BMJ open · 2017Article
- A Tale of Two Health-Care Systems: Cost-Utility Analysis of Open Carpal Tunnel Release in Canada and the United States.Plastic surgery (Oakville, Ont.) · 2017Article
- Preoperative corticosteroid injections are associated with worse long-term outcome of surgical carpal tunnel release.Acta orthopaedica · 2014Article
- Validation of a one-stop carpal tunnel clinic including nerve conduction studies and hand therapy.Annals of the Royal College of Surgeons of England · 2011Article
- The responsiveness of sensibility and strength tests in patients undergoing carpal tunnel decompression.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2011Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundCarpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is a common disorder, often treated with surgery or wrist splinting. The objective of this economic evaluation alongside a randomized trial was to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of splinting and surgery for patients with CTS.
methodsPatients at 13 neurological outpatient clinics with clinically and electrophysiologically confirmed idiopathic CTS were randomly allocated to splinting (n = 89) or surgery (n = 87). Clinical outcome measures included number of nights waking up due to symptoms, general improvement, severity of the main complaint, paraesthesia at night and during the day, and utility. The economic evaluation was performed from a societal perspective and involved all relevant costs.
resultsThere were no differences in costs. The mean total costs per patient were in the surgery group EURO 2,126 compared to EURO 2,111 in the splint group. After 12 months, the success rate in the surgery group (92%) was significantly higher than in the splint group (72%). The acceptability curve showed that at a relatively low ceiling ratio of EURO 2,500 per patient there is a 90% probability that surgery is cost-effective.
conclusionIn the Netherlands, surgery is more cost-effective compared with splinting, and recommended as the preferred method of treatment for patients with CTS.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.