ArticleHand (New York, N.Y.)2023
What Is the Infection Rate of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and Trigger Finger Release Performed Under Wide-Awake Anesthesia?
Article in Hand (New York, N.Y.), 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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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
10 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 14 citations in OpenAlex.
- Complications and side effects of Wide-Awake Local Anaesthesia No Tourniquet (WALANT) in upper limb surgery: a systematic review and meta-analysis.International orthopaedics · 2024Pooled it
- Antibiotics in Hand Surgery: Guidelines and Review.Journal of hand surgery global online · 2026Review
- Microbiological Spectrum and Antimicrobial Resistance Patterns in Hand Surgery Infections: A Monocentric Retrospective Study.Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Observational
- Greening Hand Surgery: Targeted Measures to Reduce Waste in Ambulatory Trigger Finger and Carpal Tunnel Decompression.Hand (New York, N.Y.) · 2025Article
- A systematic review of tourniquet use in paediatric orthopaedic surgery: can we extrapolate from adult guidelines?EFORT open reviews · 2024Article
- Article
- Functional Outcomes of Flexor Tendon Repair in the Fingers: A Comparison of Wide-Awake Local Anesthesia No Tourniquet Versus Traditional Anesthesia.Hand (New York, N.Y.) · 2023Article
- Wide Awake Local Anesthesia No Tourniquet Surgery of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: Patients' Experience and Recall Bias in a Day-Care Setting.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2023Article
- Optimization of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Using WALANT Method.Journal of clinical medicine · 2022Review
- Less Fluctuation in Hemodynamics of the Wide-Awake Local Anesthesia No Tourniquet Technique Than General Anesthesia in Distal Radius Plating Surgery: A Prospective Case-Control Study.Journal of clinical medicine · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundHigh infection rates have been reported in hand procedures using the wide-awake local anesthesia no tourniquet (WALANT) method, causing some to question the validity of this approach. However, little evidence exists surrounding the direct use of WALANT compared with monitored anesthetic care (MAC). This study was conducted to directly compare the postoperative infection rates of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) and trigger finger (TF) release surgeries performed under WALANT and MAC.
methodsA retrospective study comparing postoperative infection rates between patients undergoing CTS and TR releases was conducted. Our primary outcome measure was postoperative infection. Our secondary outcome was postoperative complications. Comparative statistics were used to compare means of infection between the groups.
resultsA total of 526 patients underwent CTS release (255 with WALANT and 271 with MAC), and 129 patients underwent TF release (64 with WALANT and 65 with MAC). Patients undergoing WALANT and MAC were statistically comparable in terms of sex, smoking status, diabetes, and American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status classification. In patients undergoing CTS release, there were no infections with WALANT and 6 infections (2.2%) with MAC. In patients undergoing TF release, there were no infections in either group. There were similar rates of complications in patients undergoing WALANT and MAC for CTS and TF releases.
conclusionThere was no increased risk of infection with WALANT compared with MAC in CTS or TR surgeries. These surgeries can be safely conducted with lidocaine and epinephrine without a concern for increased risk of infections or complications.
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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.