Carpal tunnel syndrome, the entrapment neuropathy of median nerve within the carpal tunnel of the wrist, is a kind of cumulative trauma disorders, and major problem in occupational health, particularly in occupations requiring highly repetitive hand motions.

We examined 337 telephone operators, 674 hands to detect the incidence and the risk factors of carpal tunnel syndrome, and the efficient screening electrodiag nostic method.

The symptomatic hands without slowing were 53 hands(7.9%) and the asymptomatic slowing hands were 30(4.5%). 44 hands(6.5%) had symptoms or signs of carpal tunnel syndrome with slowing on nerve conduction, so diagnosed as carpal tunnel syndrome. The age, obesity and wrist dimension were risk factors of carpal tunnel syndrome. The hands with symptoms or slowing had lower grip strength and higher vibration threshold in the middle finger tip compared to normal group. The most sensitive method of nerve conduction was latency of median nerve at palm to wrist. This method was reliable and efficient nerve conduction study so can be recommended as screening procedure for identification of carpal tunnel syndrome in industrial settings.