Abstract

Background and Aims:
Little is known about the current level of knowledge of the public in Saudi Arabia about carpal tunnel syndrome. Therefore, the aim of the current study is to assess the level of awareness and knowledge about carpal tunnel syndrome among residents of Riyadh City, Saudi Arabia.

Methods:
An electronic questionnaire was used to target the population that lives in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. We collected data from October 2022 to December 2022. We stored the data in an Excel datasheet and exported it to SPSS (IBM) for further analysis upon completion of the data collection.

Results:
In the current study, arthritis was the most known cause of carpal tunnel syndrome among the participants (56.3%). Still, one-third of the sample reported that they did not know if those were symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome. Furthermore, the results indicated that 63.9% of the participants reported that carpal tunnel syndrome affects their writing. In general, 38.8% of the participants had previously heard of CTS, and its prevalence among them was 15.7%. The results of our study showed that males, older populations, non-Saudis, those with higher incomes, and some occupations were associated with a greater level of CTS awareness and prevalence.

Conclusions:
The current study found a similar prevalence of CTS in the public population in the Riyadh region to previous studies, but it also significantly revealed a low awareness level.

Key words: Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, public awareness, prevalence, neurosurgery, plastic and reconstructive surgery, orthopedics.