AMA Guides® Newsletter - Issue Archive

Articles

1. Carpal tunnel syndrome – Occupationally Related or Not?

   Craig Uejo

   Pages 1–2

   DOI: 10.1001/amaguidesnewsletters.2009.MayJun01

   Abstract

   Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), the most common peripheral entrapment neuropathy, is caused by compression of the median nerve at the wrist, and annual costs of CTS treatment in the United States total $2 billion. Although CTS often is attributed to repetitive motions at work, recent reports have questioned the relationship of CTS and occupational activities. This article reviews recent publications and provides insights into the causation of this common problem. Despite ergonomic workplace modifications aimed at reducing perceived risk factors, rates of imputedly work-related musculoskeletal disorders such as CTS have not decreased during the past ten years. One study found a prevalence of electrodiagnostically confirmed CTS of 3.5% in frequent computer users, but the authors also note that affected and unaffected employees had similar occupations, years using a computer, and usage rates. Another group concluded that computer use does not pose a severe occupational hazard for developing symptoms of CTS. Recent publications have suggested other risk factors such as age, obesity, hand dominance, reduced physical fitness, lifetime alcohol intake, and smoking; others have correlated weight and body mass index with prolonged median nerve latency. A relatively small number of jobs may be associated with CTS, primarily those that involve high force and repetition. The etiology of CTS usually is multifactorial, and risk factors include genetics, age, female sex, and obesity; its relationship with occupational injury is questioned.
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2. Obstacles to Claiming Permanence and Injury-Relatedness for “Posttraumatic” Headache

   Robert J. Barth

   Pages 3–6

   DOI: 10.1001/amaguidesnewsletters.2009.MayJun02

   Abstract

   “Posttraumatic” headaches claims are controversial because they are subjective reports often provided in the complex of litigation, and the underlying pathogenesis is not defined. This article reviews principles and scientific considerations in the AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment (AMA Guides) that should be noted by evaluators who examine such cases. Some examples in the AMA Guides, Sixth Edition, may seem to imply that mild head trauma can cause permanent impairment due to headache. The author examines scientific findings that present obstacles to claiming that concussion or mild traumatic brain injury is a cause of permanent headache. The World Health Organization, for example, found a favorable prognosis for posttraumatic headache, and complete recovery over a short period of time was the norm. Other studies have highlighted the lack of a dose-response correlation between trauma and prolonged headache complaints, both in terms of the frequency and the severity of trauma. On the one hand, scientific studies have failed to support the hypothesis of a causative relationship between trauma and permanent or prolonged headaches; on the other hand, non–trauma-related factors are strongly associated with complaints of prolonged headache.
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3. Commentary

   Richard T. Katz

   Pages 6–6

   DOI: 10.1001/amaguidesnewsletters.2009.MayJun03

   Abstract

   Patients may complain of daytime drowsiness associated with a painful musculoskeletal disorder, but these complaints regard an activity of daily living (ADL) and do not result in a separate sleep impairment rating. This article focuses on sleep impairment resulting from documented nervous system dysfunction or sleep apnea. Because the accuracy and reliability of sleep testing are critical for the proper diagnosis and impairment rating of a sleep disorder, sleep testing should be completed at a center certified by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. In both the fifth and sixth editions of the AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment (AMA Guides), neurologically based sleep disorders are rated using Chapter 13, and sleep apnea is rated using Chapter 5. The AMA Guides, Sixth Edition, does provide a rating value of up to 3% whole person impairment for sleep apnea related impairment, but the fifth edition does not provide any numerical rating value. A sleep disturbance not related to neurologically based dysfunction or apnea should be considered according to its effects on ADLs for the primary pathology identified or diagnosed. Expert understanding of sleep disorders is crucial, as is the specialized experience of a credentialed sleep laboratory. Subjective questionnaires can be used to screen for sleep disorders or excessive daytime sleepiness, but formal sleep studies are necessary to confirm any diagnosis and to provide an objective basis to assess permanent impairment.
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4. Sleep Impairment

   Craig Uejo, Stephen Demeter

   Pages 7–10

   DOI: 10.1001/amaguidesnewsletters.2009.MayJun04

   Abstract

   In the AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment (AMA Guides), Sixth Edition, distal clavicle resection (resection arthroplasty of the acromioclavicular joint [ACJ]) results in ratable impairment, but only a single diagnosis within a region may be rated. Therefore, if another impairing condition is present in the shoulder region (eg, impingement syndrome or rotator cuff disease) only that resulting in the greatest causally related impairment is rated. In the setting of an occupational or other compensable injury or illness, causation of the impairment often is a key issue because, typically, only impairment that is causally related to the injury can be rated. For example, assume that a lifting injury at work caused a tear in a rotator cuff tendon that was already attenuated by repetitive impingement on inferiorly projecting spurs from longstanding degenerative arthritis of the ACJ. If surgery was performed for a traumatic rotator cuff tear and the distal clavicle also was resected due to preexisting ACJ arthritis, the latter surgery is not considered to be related to the injury. In other words, because the ACJ arthritis was neither caused nor worsened by the injury, this condition is not rated. The distal clavicular resection may have been warranted to diminish pain due to ACJ arthritis and/or eliminate the distal clavicle as a source of impingement.
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5. Rating Distal Clavicle Resection per the Guides, Sixth Edition

   Craig Uejo, James Talmage, Charles Brooks

   Pages 10–12

   DOI: 10.1001/amaguidesnewsletters.2009.MayJun05