Systemic Inflammatory Markers and Vitamin D in Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: Indicators of Disease Severity?

Abstract

The most common entrapment neuropathy affecting the upper limbs, carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), is debilitating to quality of life. This research seeks to investigate the possible involvement of inflammation in the development of CTS by analyzing the Neutrophil/Lymphocyte Ratio (NLR), Platelet/Lymphocyte Ratio (PLR), and 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] levels. This investigation was carried out as a prospective observational study, cross-sectional study. The participants comprised individuals aged 18 and above who visited the Neurology and Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Clinics at the University of Health Sciences, Adana City Training and Research Hospital. The participants were categorized into two groups: one consisting of individuals with CTS and another serving as the control group. Electrodiagnostic examinations and biochemical studies were conducted. The research had a total of 99 participants who had been diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome (44 with mild cases, 31 with intermediate cases, and 24 with severe cases), as well as 43 healthy persons serving as controls. The groups differed significantly in terms of age, weight, body mass index (BMI), neutrophil count (NE#), C-reactive protein (CRP), 25(OH)D, NLR, and PLR. There was a moderate positive link between the severity of CTS and the levels of CRP, NLR, PLR, and BMI. Conversely, a moderate negative correlation was seen with 25(OH)D levels. The findings of this research suggest that NLR, PLR, and 25(OH)D levels might be useful biomarkers for the diagnosis and evaluation of CTS severity. It is advisable to do bigger, long-term studies to provide more evidence and get a more definitive understanding of the correlation between these inflammatory markers and CTS.

Keywords

• Carpal tunnel syndrome
• systemic inflammation
• neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio

References

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