Table 3.
Details of investigations and non-surgical interventions undertaken
| Factor | Level | Overall | OA | Tendinopathy | Ganglion | Ulnar group | Other | P-value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of patients | 160 | 49 | 21 | 22 | 28 | 40 | ||
| Investigations, n (%) | ||||||||
| X-ray | No | 17 (11) | 1 (2) | 8 (38) | 6 (27) | 2 (7) | 3 (8) | <0.001*** |
| Yes | 143 (89) | 48 (98) | 13 (62) | 16 (73) | 26 (93) | 37 (93) | ||
| US | No | 126 (79) | 47 (96) | 9 (43) | 15 (68) | 24 (86) | 31 (79) | <0.001*** |
| Yes | 34 (21) | 2 (4) | 12 (57) | 7 (32) | 4 (14) | 9 (22) | ||
| Nerve conduction study | No | 147 (92) | 49 (100) | 21 (100) | 19 (86) | 27 (96) | 31 (78) | <0.001*** |
| Yes | 13 (8) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 3 (14) | 1 (4) | 9 (23) | ||
| MRI | No | 89 (56) | 33 (67) | 19 (90) | 16 (73) | 5 (18) | 16 (40) | <0.001*** |
| Yes | 71 (44) | 16 (33) | 2 (10) | 6 (27) | 23 (82) | 24 (60) | ||
| Non-surgical, n (%) | ||||||||
| Analgesia | No | 140 (88) | 39 (80) | 18 (86) | 21 (95) | 25 (89) | 37 (93) | 0.27 |
| Yes | 20 (12) | 10 (20) | 3 (14) | 1 (5) | 3 (11) | 3 (8) | ||
| Physical therapy | No | 109 (68) | 32 (65) | 17 (81) | 21 (95) | 18 (64) | 21 (54) | 0.01* |
| Yes | 51 (32) | 17 (35) | 4 (19) | 1 (5) | 10 (36) | 19 (46) | ||
| Splint | No | 110 (69) | 25 (51) | 16 (76) | 20 (91) | 22 (79) | 27 (68) | 0.007** |
| Yes | 50 (31) | 24 (49) | 5 (24) | 2 (9) | 6 (21) | 13 (33) | ||
| Injection | No | 97 (61) | 25 (51) | 9 (43) | 15 (68) | 17 (61) | 31 (78) | 0.041* |
| Yes | 63 (39) | 24 (49) | 12 (57) | 7 (32) | 11 (39) | 9 (23) | ||
| Any treatment | 0 | 30 (23) | 3 (6) | 5 (24) | 6 (27) | 8 (29) | 8 (21) | 0.080 |
| 1 | 130 (77) | 46 (94) | 16 (76) | 16 (73) | 20 (71) | 32 (79) | ||
| Number of non-surgical treatments | 0 | 30 (19) | 3 (6) | 5 (24) | 6 (27) | 8 (29) | 8 (21) | 0.14 |
| 1 | 52 (33) | 19 (39) | 9 (43) | 12 (55) | 7 (25) | 15 (38) | ||
| 2 | 46 (29) | 16 (33) | 3 (14) | 4 (18) | 9 (32) | 14 (36) | ||
| 3 | 14 (9) | 8 (16) | 3 (14) | 0 (0) | 2 (7) | 1 (3) | ||
| 4 | 7 (4) | 2 (4) | 1 (5) | 0 (0) | 2 (7) | 2 (5) | ||
| 5 | 1 (1) | 1 (2) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | ||
| Number of appointments | 0 | 1 (1) | 1 (2) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0.40 |
| 1 | 34 (21) | 11 (22) | 5 (24) | 7 (32) | 2 (7) | 9 (23) | ||
| 2 | 65 (41) | 19 (39) | 12 (57) | 10 (45) | 11 (39) | 13 (33) | ||
| 3 | 39 (24) | 12 (24) | 3 (14) | 5 (23) | 10 (36) | 9 (23) | ||
| 4 | 20 (13) | 5 (10) | 1 (5) | 0 (0) | 5 (18) | 9 (23) | ||
| 5 | 1 (1) | 1 (2) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | ||
| Discharged with the first 12 months | No | 81 (51) | 28 (57) | 5 (24) | 9 (41) | 19 (68) | 20 (50) | 0.026* |
| Yes | 79 (49) | 21 (43) | 16 (76) | 13 (59) | 9 (32) | 20 (50) | ||
***P-value < 0.001, **P-value < 0.01, *P-value < 0.05.