THURSDAY, Oct. 8, 2026 (HealthDay News) -- For patients with refractory carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), ultrasound (US)-guided hydrodissection with normal saline (NS) alone yields sustained and morphologic improvement, according to a study published online Oct. 6 in Radiology.
Anindita Bose, M.D., from the Mahatma Gandhi Medical College and Hospital in India, and colleagues examined and compared the clinical and sonographic outcomes and complication rates of three US-guided hydrodissection techniques for treatment of CTS. The study included 39 adult participants with refractory CTS who were randomly assigned to one of three groups: US-guided hydrodissection with NS (group 1), perineural corticosteroid injection (group 2), or US-guided hydrodissection with NS plus corticosteroid (group 3).
The researchers found that groups 1 and 3 had persistent improvement in the Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire (BCTQ) and Visual Analog Scale scores. At 24 weeks, 85.7 and 90.5 percent of wrists in groups 1 and 3, respectively, achieved a minimal clinically important difference for the BCTQ Symptom Severity Scale, with no significant difference between the groups. Early clinical improvement was seen in group 2, but symptoms recurred, and at 24 weeks, outcomes did not differ significantly from baseline. At 12 weeks, the percentage reduction in the median nerve cross-sectional area was greater in groups 1 and 3 than in group 2 (43 and 46 percent, respectively, versus 11 percent). There were no major complications observed.
"At 12 weeks and six months, both hydrodissection groups demonstrated further improvement in clinical symptoms and function, whereas patients who received corticosteroid injection alone experienced a recurrence of the symptoms, suggesting that the initial benefit was short-lived," coauthor Anupama Tandon, M.D., from the University College of Medical Sciences and Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital in India, said in a statement.
