Introduction: Moderate to severe cubital tunnel syndrome usually need surgical treatment. Some patients feel subjective symptom relief shortly after the surgery while others do not. In this study, we want to know whether patients with early symptom relief had different clinical characteristics and surgical outcomes compared with patients without early symptom relief. Materials and Methods: From January 2013 to February 2015, 39 surgical cases with moderate to severe stage cubital tunnel syndrome (Mcgowan grade IIA, IIB, III) were included. In all, 21 patients (17 male, 4 female, mean age 54.6 ± 12.6) reported subjective symptom relief within 14 days from surgery. In addition, 18 patients (16 male, 2 female, mean age 54.7 ± 11.4) did not report early symptom relief. Clinical characteristics including hand dominance, gender, smoking history, type of surgery, age, symptom duration, range of motion, grip strength, key pinch strength, Quick Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (QuickDASH) score, and Mcgowan grade were analyzed retrospectively using t test or chi-square test. Surgical outcomes measured at 3 months, 6 months, 12 months after the operation were analyzed using repetitive measured analysis of variance (ANOVA) or chi-square test. Results: The key pinch strength (P < .001) was different between groups. Postoperative 12 months Krout Wilson criteria (P = .039) were associated with the early symptom relief. The QuickDASH score and grip strength was improved as time passed, but no difference was observed between groups. Conclusion: Early symptom relief was associated with key pinch strength and surgical outcomes in patients with moderate to severe cubital tunnel syndrome.
