Canterbury Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Database (renewal)
Research type
Research Database
IRAS ID
327874
Contact name
Jeremy Bland
Contact email
Research summary
Canterbury Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Database
REC name
London - South East Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
23/LO/0668
Date of REC Opinion
13 Oct 2023
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion
Data collection arrangements
1) When a referral for testing is received patient identifying information, the identity and location of the referring clinician and the clinical indications for testing are entered into the system by administrative staff if the request is received on paper, or transferred from the hospital patient administration and electronic patient record systems if the request is made electronically. For patients referred for possible CTS this data is then kept as part of the CTS database.
2) Data is input directly to the system by users carrying out neurophysiological tests, treatment procedures and consultations during the subject’s visit to the department for testing.
3) Systematically encoded clinical information is collected from patients by questionnaire.
4) The website provides facilities for patients to complete symptom questionnaires online before attending the clinic.
5) Postal, telephone and physical follow-up contacts with patients during treatment are all recorded in the database either by the clinician involved or by the forwarding of copy letters to the Canterbury clinic where the clinical staff transcribe this information into the database. Follow-up instances of the Boston-Levine CTS symptom questionnaire can also be submitted via the website and electronically transferred to their database record.
Research programme
The database is the world’s largest CTS data store. It is a valuable tool for research into CTS. So far it has facilitated a number of research studies which have been published in peer-review journals. It is designed to allow users to answer questions relating to aspects of the aetiology, epidemiology, diagnosis and treatment of CTS. Possibilities include: Epidemiology – How common is it? Which subgroups of the population are more likely to develop CTS? How does it relate to age? Is the incidence changing over time? Diagnosis – What clinical features allow the diagnosis to be made? How accurate are bedside or laboratory tests for making the diagnosis? Investigation – What use are investigations such as X-rays, blood tests, neurophysiology or ultrasound imaging in helping to treat patients with CTS? Treatment – What are the outcomes of the different possible treatments for CTS? Prognosis – Can the outcomes of treatment be predicted in the individual patient? Health Economics – What are the costs of investigating and managing CTS? Apart from its function as a part of the patients' medical record the database is configured only to support research for patient benefit and will never be used for commercial purposes, for example marketing of treatment for CTS.
Research database title
Canterbury Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Database
Establishment organisation
East Kent Hospitals University NHS Trust
Establishment organisation address
Kent and Canterbury Hospital
Ethelbert Road
Canterbury
CT1 3NG