Exploring the Non-Invasive Approaches to Carpal Tunnel Syndrome in Routine Clinical Practice: A Focus on the Role of Acetylcholinesterase Inhibitors

TL;DR

This study shows that adding ipidacrine to standard treatment improves recovery for carpal tunnel syndrome patients.

Contribution

The study introduces ipidacrine as a beneficial addition to basic therapy for carpal tunnel syndrome.

Findings

Group 1 showed a significantly greater reduction in DASH scores compared to Group 2.

Pain intensity and symptom severity scores improved more in the ipidacrine group.

Global improvement correlated positively with the observed score changes.

Abstract

The prevalence of N. medianus compression neuropathies remains high in clinical practice. The objective was to evaluate modalities of conservative treatments for carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) focusing on the role of acetylcholinesterase inhibitors. This observational study involved 51 adult outpatients diagnosed with CTS. Patients were observed during routine clinical protocols and we compared two groups of 25 and 26 individuals, with the first group receiving basic therapy for CTS and 20 mg of ipidacrine (Neiromidin®) two or three times a day per os, while the second group received only basic therapy. The condition of all patients was assessed twice, with at least a one-month interval. The parameters evaluated included the Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire (BCTQ); the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand scale (DASH); and pain intensity on the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS). The mean reduction in DASH score was 12.3 (SD 7.7) in Group 1 and 7.1 (SD 6.3) in Group 2 (p < 0.01). Also, other scores showed statistically significant differences between the two groups: −2.3 vs. −1.0 for NRS, −0.89 vs. −0.44 for SSS, and −0.68 vs. −0.31 for FSS, respectively (p < 0.01). Moreover, these findings correlated positively with the global improvement (CGI-I) between the groups. The addition of ipidacrine to basic therapy led to improved recovery in patients with CTSs of varying severity.

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