Does Body Mass Index Influence Time to Surgery After Diagnosis of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?
- 1Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Texas Health San Antonio, USA.
Abstract
Background
Symptom severity, failure of conservative treatment, and health care access may influence surgical timing of carpal tunnel release (CTR) after diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). However, the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and the time to surgery (TTS) after diagnosis of CTS remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to assess whether BMI is associated with TTS after CTS diagnosis.Methods
We conducted a retrospective cohort study using a multicenter registry to identify patients with a diagnosis of CTS. Patients were stratified into 6 BMI categories (20.0-24.9, 25.0-29.9, 30.0-34.9, 35.0-39.9, 40.0-44.9, and 45.0-49.9) The primary outcome was TTS with either open CTR or endoscopic CTR. Time to surgery was compared across groups using descriptive analysis and Kruskal-Wallis tests with post hoc Dunn test for pairwise comparisons.Results
We identified 272 713 patients with CTS. A total of 52 467 patients (19.2%) had surgical interventions including 40 297 (76.8%) with open CTR and 12 170 (23.2%) with endoscopic CTR. Body mass index was associated with a statistically significant difference in TTS in both open and endoscopic CTR (P < .001). Patients with a BMI of 45.0 to 49.9 had the greatest median length of time between diagnosis of CTS and CTR in open (94 days) and endoscopic (117 days) groups. Compared with patients with a BMI of 20.0 to 24.9, this corresponded to an increase in median time to surgery of 25 and 34 days for open and endoscopic CTR, respectively.Conclusion
Body mass index was associated with significant differences in TTS following diagnosis of CTS. On average, patients with greater BMI faced longer waits from time to diagnosis of CTS to CTR with delays of approximately 3 to 5 weeks compared with patients with normal BMI.
Related
- Where do we stand with revision surgery for recurrent carpal tunnel syndrome? A systematic review☆
- Ultrasound-guided needle knife release of the transverse carpal ligament for carpal tunnel syndrome: a prospective case series study
- Evaluation of Large Language Model Concordance With AAOS Clinical Practice Guidelines for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
- Shear Wave Elastography of the Abductor Pollicis Brevis in Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: Relationship with Quantitative Motor Unit Potential and Nerve Conduction Parameters
- Wrist and Thumb Kinematics During Sustained Smartphone Typing in Patients with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: A Cross-Sectional Comparative Study
BibTeX
@article{ni2026does,
title = {{Does Body Mass Index Influence Time to Surgery After Diagnosis of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?}},
author = {Andrew Ni and Tyler Williamson and Ryan Rose and Brian Sager and Jason Coffman and Abhi Rashiwala and Christina Brady},
journal = {Hand (New York, N.Y.)},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1177/15589447261489856},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42850926},
note = {CC BY-NC},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Does Body Mass Index Influence Time to Surgery After Diagnosis of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?
AU - Andrew Ni
AU - Tyler Williamson
AU - Ryan Rose
AU - Brian Sager
AU - Jason Coffman
AU - Abhi Rashiwala
AU - Christina Brady
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/08
JO - Hand (New York, N.Y.)
DO - 10.1177/15589447261489856
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42850926
AB - Background Symptom severity, failure of conservative treatment, and health care access may influence surgical timing of carpal tunnel release (CTR) after diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). However, the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and the time to surgery (TTS) after diagnosis of CTS remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to assess whether BMI is associated with TTS after CTS diagnosis.Methods We conducted a retrospective cohort study using a multicenter registry to identify patients with a diagnosis of CTS. Patients were stratified into 6 BMI categories (20.0-24.9, 25.0-29.9, 30.0-34.9, 35.0-39.9, 40.0-44.9, and 45.0-49.9) The primary outcome was TTS with either open CTR or endoscopic CTR. Time to surgery was compared across groups using descriptive analysis and Kruskal-Wallis tests with post hoc Dunn test for pairwise comparisons.Results We identified 272 713 patients with CTS. A total of 52 467 patients (19.2%) had surgical interventions including 40 297 (76.8%) with open CTR and 12 170 (23.2%) with endoscopic CTR. Body mass index was associated with a statistically significant difference in TTS in both open and endoscopic CTR (P < .001). Patients with a BMI of 45.0 to 49.9 had the greatest median length of time between diagnosis of CTS and CTR in open (94 days) and endoscopic (117 days) groups. Compared with patients with a BMI of 20.0 to 24.9, this corresponded to an increase in median time to surgery of 25 and 34 days for open and endoscopic CTR, respectively.Conclusion Body mass index was associated with significant differences in TTS following diagnosis of CTS. On average, patients with greater BMI faced longer waits from time to diagnosis of CTS to CTR with delays of approximately 3 to 5 weeks compared with patients with normal BMI.
SN - 1558-9447
SN - 1558-9455
ER -