Introduction Infrared thermography (IRT) has demonstrated high diagnostic accuracy for carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) diagnosis in previous studies. However, the recovery of the autonomic function after treatment for CTS is rarely addressed in the literature, especially on the long-term.

Case Presentation A 59-year-old lady sought treatment for a long-term history of numbness, tingling, and hand and arm pain. CTS was diagnosed by clinical and electrophysiological means. After 6 months of conservative treatment, surgical treatment was offered. Preoperative IRT was performed by static and dynamic evaluations immediately and 5 minutes after the cold challenge test using the FLIR C2 camera with accuracy of 2°C or 2%. Fingers were consistently colder (mean of 3.76°C), which clearly represented an autonomic dysfunction in the patient's hand. The patient underwent mini-open carpal tunnel decompression and did great postoperatively. One year after surgery, the patient was fully recovered and completely asymptomatic. IRT imaging showed a remarkable improvement of fingers temperature (mean of 3.36°C).

Conclusions Our long-term results confirmed that functional recovery occurred concomitantly to autonomic recovery, which was demonstrated by consistent improvement in fingers' temperature. IRT has a strong potential at the evaluation of patients with CTS for both diagnosis and follow-up.

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by [Matheus Henrique Oliveira Ferreira], [Pedro Neves Borges] and [Paulo Roberto Bastos Fontinha]. The first draft of the manuscript was written by [Marcus André Acioly] and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Received: 20 February 2023

Accepted: 05 July 2023

Article published online:
18 October 2023

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