# Incidence of Upper Extremity Neuropathies at a Single Tertiary Care Institution in the United States: Trends in Recent Years, Including the COVID-19 Pandemic

## TL;DR

This study shows a significant rise in upper extremity neuropathy diagnoses at a U.S. hospital, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

## Contribution

The study identifies a notable increase in UE neuropathy cases during the pandemic, suggesting a possible link to pandemic-related changes.

## Key findings

- There was a 122% increase in UE neuropathy diagnoses from 2018 to 2019.
- Diagnoses increased by 28.8% from 2020 to 2021, coinciding with the pandemic.
- Most patients diagnosed with UE neuropathy were aged 55 or older.

## Abstract

Objective: This study examined trends in upper extremity (UE) neuropathies at a large urban tertiary care center in the Northeastern United States over the past five years, including the period of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Method: A retrospective medical record review was conducted from 2018 to 2022. We collected data from unique patient records identified using International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes for UE neuropathies. We characterized subjects by age, demographics, and duration of symptoms.

Results: This study included 288 pediatric patients and 51,997 adult patients newly diagnosed with UE neuropathy. Most patients were aged 55+; 0.4% of all patients diagnosed with UE neuropathy were children. Across all ages, there was an overall increase in UE neuropathy diagnoses in the past five years, with the most noticeable increases from 2018 to 2019 (+5,761 diagnosed individuals, or +122%) and from 2020 to 2021 (+2,769 diagnosed individuals, or +28.8%).

Conclusion: Our institution's UE neuropathy diagnoses have increased in the past five years. Of note, there was a significantly increased rate of UE neuropathy diagnoses from 2020 to 2021. This increase coincides with the COVID-19 pandemic, which is leading to a changing environment for many Americans. These societal changes will likely become indelible after the pandemic; safety practices should be enacted to avoid these debilitating neuropathies.