Prevalence of carpal tunnel syndrome among individuals with Down syndrome

We examined occurrence of carpal tunnel syndrome in 48 patients with Down syndrome clinically and electrophysiologically. In the median nerve the distal latency to the abductor pollicis brevis muscle and the distal sensory nerve conduction velocity to digit II and III were recorded. As a control, we examined the ulner nerve. In the median nerve, a distal latency above 4.3 msec and sensory nerve conduction velocity below 50 m/sec were considered indicative of Carpal tunnel syndrome. Twenty seven patients (56%) had normal findings, 13 (27%) had both prolonged distal motor latency and reduced distal sensory nerve conduction velocity, and 8 patients (17%) had one of these signs, a much higher frequency than expected. Results show that prevalence of electrophysiological carpal tunnel syndrome is high in individuals with Down syndrome.