Treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome: A trial of Vitamin B6

Objective: Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is a common disorder that can be treated with surgery or conservative options. There have been several studies of Vitamin B6 as a conservative treatment for CTS, but its effectiveness remains controversial. Our objective was to compare the efficacy of splinting and placebo with splinting and VitaminB6 in patients with CTS.Methodology: We conducted a randomized case-control trial in the neurology clinic of Alzahra hospital, Isfahan, Iran, between March 2009 and March 2010. Ninety outpatients who were at least 18 years old and who had clinically and electrophysiologically confirmed idiopathic CTS were included in the study. The patients were randomly allocated to two groups: placebo plus wrist splinting (control) or VitaminB6 supplementation (for six months) plus wrist splinting (case) for at least three months. Eighty-six patients (95%) completed the study. The primary endpoint was improved sensory nerve conduction by the median nerve.Result: Evaluations performed at three months follow up revealed a significant difference in the mean peak sensory latency between the case and control groups (p=0.002). A total of 65% of patients in the case group reported subjective symptom relief compared with 58% of patients in the control group. These data suggest that splinting combined with VitaminB6 supplementation is more effective than splinting alone in improving electrophysiological parameters and subjective symptoms of CTS.Conclusion: Vitamin B6 is an effective treatment in mild and moderate CTS and could be considered as a conservative treatment