Document Type

Article

Publication Date

3-31-2026

Comments

This article is the author’s final published version in Journal of Hand Surgery Global Online, Volume 8, Issue 3, 2026, Article number 100970.

The published version is available at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhsg.2026.100970. Copyright © 2026, THE AUTHORS.

 

Abstract

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to determine whether patients diagnosed with ulnar nerve lesions (UNLs) have an increased risk of developing carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS).

METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was conducted using the TriNetX database, which contains data of >100 million patients. We identified 360,021 patients with UNLs and matched them 1:1 with controls. The incidence of CTS was assessed at 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 years following the diagnosis of UNL. Statistical analyses were used to evaluate the development of CTS in the UNL cohort compared with controls.

RESULTS:  Patients with UNL demonstrated a significantly higher risk of developing CTS at all time points. At 1 year post-UNL diagnosis, the risk of CTS was 10.4% in the UNL group versus 3.1% in controls (P < .0001). This difference persisted throughout the 5-year period. Odds ratios similarly indicated a significantly greater likelihood of CTS development in patients with UNL.

CONCLUSIONS: Patients with a history of UNLs are at a significantly increased risk of developing CTS, especially within the first 2 years. This supports the hypothesis that ulnar nerve pathology may precede and increase susceptibility to median nerve compression.

TYPE OF STUDY/LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Prognostic III.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

PubMed ID

41969994

Language

English

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