Efficacy and prognosis of surgical treatment for burning hands syndrome patients

Abstract

Purpose: Few reports have discussed surgical treatment of patients with burning hands syndrome, a mild variant of traumatic central spinal cord syndrome (TCCS). In this report, we characterized the role of surgical treatment for patients with burning hands syndrome. Methods: A total of 32 cases from August 2013 to August 2018 met the inclusion criteria, including 26 males and 6 females aged 55.7±10.8 years. All patients complained of burning, numbness, and tingling in hands after cervical hyperextension injury, and no sensory or motor dysfunction of the lower limbs. The graded redefined assessment of strength, sensibility, and prehension (GRASSP) scoring system was used to evaluate upper limb neurological function preoperatively, 1 week after surgery, and at the last follow-up. Results: All patients were followed up for more than 24 months, with an average follow-up of 50.4±18.4 months. The nerve function of the upper limbs had recovered significantly after 1 week and at the last follow-up. The percentage of patients showing improvement at 1 week after surgery was 44.7±2.6% for dorsal sensory function, 44.8±2.7% for palmar sensory function, 46.4±3.4% for strength, 44.3±4.1% for prehension ability, and 48.7±3.6% for prehension performance. The percentage of patients showing improvement at the last follow-up period was 90.2±2.5% for dorsal sensory function, 89.0±2.5% for palmar sensory function, 93.3±2.5% for strength, 91.3±2.8% for prehension ability, and 91.4±2.5% for prehension performance. Conclusions: Our results show that surgical decompression and internal fixation in patients with burning hands syndrome can achieve good neurological recovery.