Hand-arm vibration syndrome: clinical characteristics, conventional electrophysiology and quantitative sensory testing.

Objective: Workers exposed to vibrating tools may develop hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS). We assessed the somatosensory phenotype using quantitative sensory testing (QST) in comparison to electrophysiology to characterize (1) the most sensitive QST parameter for detecting sensory loss, (2) the correlation of QST and electrophysiology, and (3) the frequency of a carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) in HAVS.

Methods: QST, cold provocation tests, fine motor skills, and median nerve neurography were used.