Direct and indirect utilities of patients with mild to moderate versus severe carpal tunnel syndrome

Health utility is a quantitative global measure of patients' health status. This retrospective cohort study aimed to compare health utilities of patients with mild to moderate versus severe carpal tunnel syndrome and determine inter-instrumental agreement. Health utilities of 29 patients with varying severity of carpal tunnel syndrome were measured indirectly by Short-Form Sixth Dimension and EuroQol 5D questionnaire and directly by Chained Standard Gamble and a visual analogue scale. Health utility was 0.69 for Short-Form Sixth Dimension, 0.78 for EuroQol 5D Questionnaire, 0.98 for Chained Standard Gamble, and 0.76 for the visual analogue scale. There was a significant inter-instrumental agreement between three of the instruments, but not the Chained Standard Gamble. The difference in health utilities between patients with mild or moderate versus severe carpal tunnel syndrome was significant only for the EuroQol 5D questionnaire. We conclude based on our results that there are no clear indications on how health utilities can be integrated into decision analysis models and economic evaluation regarding carpal tunnel syndrome of various severities.Level of evidence: IV.