Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36197649›Full record

ArticlePain and therapy2022

Comparison of Distal and Proximal Local Steroid Injection for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.

Chunke Dong, Yuting Zhu, Jun Zhou, Liang Dong, Leiming Hu

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Pain and therapy, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
0.3field-weighted citation impact, top 44% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed, 2 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Trial
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.

Chunke Dong *Beijing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
Yuting Zhu *Section III of Internal Medicine Department, Tongzhou District Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese Medicine and Western Medicine, Beijing, China.
Jun ZhouBeijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China.
Liang DongDepartment of Spine Surgery, Honghui Hospital, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China.
Leiming HuDepartment of Hand Surgery, Honghui Hospital, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710054, Shaanxi, China. doctor_hulm@126.com.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9220-1218
Xi'an Honghui Hospital · CNBeijing University of Chinese Medicine · CNCapital Medical University · CNIntegrated Chinese Medicine (China) · CN

Funding

Natural Science Foundation of Shaanxi Province 2022JM-546
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionLocal steroid injection (LSI) in the carpal tunnel is a mainstay of conservative treatment in patients with carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). Currently, clinicians generally perform a conventional proximal approach (PA) or novel distal approach (DA) for LSI. Recent systematic reviews comparing the two injection methods are lacking. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to assess whether LSI using the DA was superior to PA in treating patients with CTS.

methodsDatabases including Pubmed, Embase, and the Cochrane library were searched up to 30 May 2022 to identify relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing the DA with the PA steroid injection in patients with CTS. The outcomes mainly included Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire Symptom Severity Scale (BCTQs) and Functional Status Scale (BCTQf), visual analog scores (VAS), electrophysiological outcomes, pain of injection, duration of injection, or adverse events.

resultsFive RCTs involving 339 patients were identified. Pooled analysis showed that the DA group took less time [mean difference (MD) -19.91; 95% CI -34.48 to -5.35; P = 0.007] and acquired better sensory nerve action potential amplitude [standardized mean difference (SMD) -0.37; 95% CI -0.62 to -0.11; P = 0.005]. The two groups were not significantly different in terms of BCTQs and BCTQf, VAS, other electrophysiological outcomes, pain of injection, or adverse events (P > 0.05).

conclusionAlthough providing similar improvement in pain relief or function improvement, the distal approach is superior to the proximal approach in terms of timing, without increasing other side effects. Further high-quality randomized studies are required to confirm these results.

Indexed as

Carpal tunnel syndromeDistal injectionLocal corticosteroid injectionMeta-analysisProximal injectionRandomized controlled trial

Identifiers

PMID36197649
PMCPMC9633920
OpenAlexW4301606155

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.