The Influence of Wound Closure Techniques after Surgical Decompression in Patients with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome on Sleep Disturbance and Life Quality: A Prospective Comparison of Surgical Techniques

• Published in: Clinics and practice Vol. 14; no. 2; pp. 546 - 555
• Main Authors: Sunjic Roguljic, Veridijana, Roguljic, Luka, Jukic, Ivana, Kovacic, Vedran
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 01.04.2024
• Subjects: Adhesives; carpal tunnel; Carpal tunnel syndrome; Hospitals; Insomnia; life quality; Patients; Postoperative period; Quality of life; Questionnaires; Self report; skin adhesive; skin suture; Sleep disorders; sleep disturbance; Surgeons; Surgery; Surgical outcomes; Sutures; Tensile strength; United States > US; Pittsburgh Pennsylvania; life quality; skin suture; sleep disturbance; skin adhesive; carpal tunnel; cyanoacrylate; insomnia
• ISSN: 2039-7283; 2039-7275; 2039-7283
• DOI: 10.3390/clinpract14020042

Background: The compression of the median nerve within the carpal tunnel is the cause of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). Surgical decompression is successful in improving sleep and quality of life, but the effect of tissue adhesives as a material for wound closure has not been investigated. The objective of the study was to evaluate sleep disorders and health-related life quality by comparing two methods for wound closure after carpal surgery in participants who were randomized to receive tissue adhesives or transcutaneous sutures. Methods: The subjects, aged 61.56 ± 12.03 years, were randomized to receive either tissue adhesives (n = 50) or suture-based wound closure (n = 50) using the Glubran Tiss 2® skin adhesive after subcutaneous running sutures. The outcomes were assessed during the 12-month postoperative follow-up. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PQSI) and Insomnia Severity Scale (ISI) were used for the sleep disturbance assessment, and for the health-related quality of life assessment, the total SF-36 (36-Item Short Form Survey) was used. Results: The PQSI, ISI, and SF-36 were not statistically different between groups during the follow-up, except in the ISI score two weeks after surgery (9.40 ± 1.18 in the tissue adhesive group vs. 9.96 ± 1.09 in the suture-based group, p = 0.008). The PQSI, ISI, and SF-36 scores for all the subjects and groups were persistently improved at all the follow-up intervals after surgery. The total SF-36 score increased 12 months after surgery (49.84 ± 5.85 vs. 82.46 ± 5.68, p < 0.001). Conclusions: Cyanoacrylate-based adhesion material can be used for wound closure after open CTS decompression as a standard transcutaneous suture, and both techniques equally lead to improved sleep and life quality. The possible advantages of tissue adhesives include a faster reduction in the ISI.