Responsiveness and validity of the Normal Hand Score in patients undergoing carpal tunnel decompression

This study describes the measurement properties of the Normal Hand Score in patients undergoing carpal tunnel decompression (CTD). We identified 1893 episodes of CTD over a 6-year period. Paired pre- and postoperative QuickDASH, Normal Hand and satisfaction scores were available for 1006 episodes (53%; mean follow-up of 12 months). The effect size, minimum clinically important change (MCIC) and patient-acceptable symptom state (PASS) were calculated using anchor-based methodology and receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve analyses. Mean Normal Hand Score improved from 48 (SD 20) preoperatively to 78 (SD 24) postoperatively (p