Wrist pain is
common. People with persistent pain
commonly undergo arthros
copi
c investigation. Little is known about the prognosis or prognosti
c fa
ctors for these patients. The purpose of the study was to evaluate prognosis and prognosti
c fa
ctors for pain and fun
ctional disability in patients with persistent wrist pain who pro
ceed to arthros
copi
c investigation. The study design used was a prospe
ctive
cohort study. One hundred and five
conse
cutive parti
cipants who underwent arthros
copi
c investigation for undiagnosed wrist pain for at least four-week duration were re
cruited. Patient-rated wrist and hand evaluation (PRWHE) s
cores were determined at baseline (before arthros
copy) and one year after arthros
copy. One-year follow-up data were obtained for 97 (92 % ) of 105 parti
cipants. Mean PRWHE total s
core de
clined from 49 of 100 (standard deviation [SD] 18.5) at baseline to 26 of 100 (SD 20.4) at one year. Two prognosti
c fa
ctors were identified: baseline PRWHE and duration of symptoms. These fa
ctors explained 19 % and 5 % of the variability in the final PRWHE s
core, respe
ctively. Results of provo
cative wrist tests and arthros
copi
c findings did not signifi
cantly
contribute to prognosis in this
cohort. This study provides the first robust eviden
ce of the prognosis of persistent wrist pain. Parti
cipants who underwent arthros
copi
c investigation for persistent wrist pain improved on average by approximately 50 % at one year; however, most
continued to have some pain and disability. Duration of pain and PRWHE at baseline explained 24 % of the one-year PRWHE s
core.
class=""h4"">Level of Evidence
Level?2.