scholarly journals Epidemiology and pathogenesis of thoracic outlet syndrome

2015 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gustaw Wojcik ◽  
Barbara Sokolowska ◽  
Jolanta Piskorz

Abstract The superior thoracic aperture is a place particularly vulnerable to the occurrence of tissue conflict and the development of a number of neurovascular changes carrying a risk of upper limb dysfunction. The triggering factor in this case is the pressure on the nerve vascular elements brought about by too large muscles of the chest and neck, clavicle fracture and dislocation of the upper ribs, anomalies in the form of ribs, in the neck, or by apex of the lung tumors. Each anatomical anomaly may be a cause of a number of lesions and lead to the development of the disease. Due to the nature of the oppressed structures, there are two basic groups: neurogenic and vascular. The most common variant giving clinical symptoms is neurogenic thoracic outlet syndrome. In this, the compression ratio, the brachial plexus, and for this reason, the vascular surface of the upper limb dysfunction is often overlooked. However, the vascular variant, and especially arterial sub-variant, is very dangerous because it can give complications even in the form of aneurysms, and even upper limb ischemia. The aim of the study is to present the most common changes in the thoracic outlet causing functional disorders of the upper limb.

Injury ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 46 ◽  
pp. S3-S7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Stella ◽  
Emmanuele Santolini ◽  
Stefania Briano ◽  
Federico Santolini

BMC Surgery ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhenyu Cao ◽  
Yufei Hou ◽  
Xiaochen Su ◽  
Menghao Teng ◽  
Wenchen Ji ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF) is the preferred choice for treating clavicle fractures. The brachial plexus injury caused by ORIF of a clavicle fracture is very rare. If it is not treated in time, the function of the brachial plexus will be challenging to recover, which will eventually lead to upper limb dysfunction and seriously affect the patient’s quality of life. Our team recently used ORIF to treat a patient with a clavicle fracture, who developed brachial plexus injury symptoms after surgery. Case presentation A 34-year-old female patient was admitted to the hospital for 13 h due to the right shoulder movement restriction after a fall. Due to the significant displacement of the fracture, we used ORIF to treat the fracture. The surgery went well. When the anaesthesia effect subsided 12 h after the operation, the patient developed right brachial plexus injury symptoms, decreased right upper limb muscle strength, dysfunction, and hypoesthesia. Symptomatic treatments, such as nourishing nerve and electrical stimulation, were given immediately. Sixty days after the operation, the patient’s brachial plexus injury symptoms disappeared, and the function of the right upper limb returned to the preoperative state. Conclusions Patients with clavicle fractures usually need to undergo a careful physical examination before surgery to determine whether symptoms of brachial plexus injury have occurred. Anaesthesia puncture requires ultrasound guidance to avoid direct damage to the brachial plexus. When the fracture end is sharp, reset should be careful to prevent nerve stump stabbed. When using an electric drill to drill holes, a depth limiter should be installed in advance to prevent the drill from damaging the subclavian nerve and blood vessels. When measuring the screw depth, the measuring instrument should be close to the bone surface and sink slowly to avoid intense hooks and damage to the brachial plexus. Try to avoid unipolar electrosurgical units to prevent heat conduction from damaging nerves, and bipolar electrocoagulation should be used instead. If symptoms of brachial plexus injury occur after surgery, initial symptomatic treatment is drugs and functional exercise, and if necessary, perform surgical exploration.


2022 ◽  
Vol Publish Ahead of Print ◽  
Author(s):  
Gokhale Sudheer ◽  
Gaur Naman ◽  
Akshya Gupta ◽  
Vikram Dogra

VASA ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 327-332 ◽  
Author(s):  
Koutouzis ◽  
Sfyroeras ◽  
Moulakakis ◽  
Kontaras ◽  
Nikolaou ◽  
...  

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the presence, etiology and clinical significance of elevated troponin I in patients with acute upper or lower limb ischemia. The high sensitivity and specificity of cardiac troponin for the diagnosis of myocardial cell damage suggested a significant role for troponin in the patients investigated for this condition. The initial enthusiasm for the diagnostic potential of troponin was limited by the discovery that elevated cardiac troponin levels are also observed in conditions other than acute myocardial infarction, even conditions without obvious cardiac involvement. Patients and Methods: 71 consecutive patients participated in this study. 31 (44%) of them were men and mean age was 75.4 ± 10.3 years (range 44–92 years). 60 (85%) patients had acute lower limb ischemia and the remaining (11; 15%) had acute upper limb ischemia. Serial creatine kinase (CK), isoenzyme MB (CK-MB) and troponin I measurements were performed in all patients. Results: 33 (46%) patients had elevated peak troponin I (> 0.2 ng/ml) levels, all from the lower limb ischemia group (33/60 vs. 0/11 from the acute upper limb ischemia group; p = 0.04). Patients with lower limb ischemia had higher peak troponin I values than patients with upper limb ischemia (0.97 ± 2.3 [range 0.01–12.1] ng/ml vs. 0.04 ± 0.04 [0.01–0.14] ng/ml respectively; p = 0.003), higher peak CK values (2504 ± 7409 [range 42–45 940] U/ml vs. 340 ± 775 [range 34–2403] U/ml, p = 0.002, respectively, in the two groups) and peak CK-MB values (59.4 ± 84.5 [range 12–480] U/ml vs. 21.2 ± 9.1 [range 12–39] U/ml, respectively, in the two groups; p = 0.04). Peak cardiac troponin I levels were correlated with peak CK and CK-MB values. Conclusions: Patients with lower limb ischemia often have elevated troponin I without a primary cardiac source; this was not observed in patients presenting with acute upper limb ischemia. It is very important for these critically ill patients to focus on the main problem of acute limb ischemia and to attempt to treat the patient rather than the troponin elevation per se. Cardiac troponin elevation should not prevent physicians from providing immediate treatment for limb ischaemia to these patients, espescially when signs, symptoms and electrocardiographic findings preclude acute cardiac involvement.


2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (8) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alosaimi Roaa ◽  
Albajri Ahood A ◽  
Albalwi Roaa M
Keyword(s):  

Author(s):  
Vikram S. ◽  
Saraswathi Devi H.N.

Medical science says that ischemia is a common complication in Diabetes, especially in the lower limb but this is a case presenting ischemic changes in upper limb which is unique and also in such type of acute ischemia amputation is the only choice of treatment to save the life of patient from septicaemia. Such a rare and interesting case was taken at Sri Sri Ayurveda Hospital and handled by proper Ayurvedic line of treatment by which circulation is re-established which saved both limb and life of patient. A patient by name Sundaramma, 62yr Female, visited Sri Sri Ayurveda Hospital on 29/2/2016 with a diagnosis of Right upper limb Ischemia with Diabetes Mellitus and Active TB. The main symptoms were severe pain and burning sensation in Right hand and forearm, discolouration of fingers with ulcers, Bluish black discolouration over right thumb, necrosis, pus dischargeand stiffness, associated with difficulty in movement of right arm, shoulder joint, elbow joint, palm and fingers. Diagnosed as Right Upper Limb Ischemia with Diabetes Mellitus and active TB. Therapeutic interventions like Right upper limb Doppler and CT angiogram were done. Such a complicated case was taken at Sri Sri Ayurveda Hospital, and carefully handled by Ayurvedic methods of management, which was ended up by preventing amputation of the limb and also achieving the re-establishment of arterial circulation.


Vascular ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 84-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean Deguara ◽  
Tahir Ali ◽  
Bijan Modarai ◽  
Kevin G. Burnand

The objective of this study was to review a single center's experience of upper limb revascularization over 20 years. All patients undergoing operative or endovascular upper limb revascularization between June 1983 and July 2003 were identified. One hundred eighty-four upper limb revascularization procedures were carried out on 172 patients. Sixty-one patients had a thromboembolic event (35%), 53 patients presented with a traumatic vascular injury (31%), and 29 patients had symptoms of chronic atherosclerotic upper limb ischemia (17%). Fifteen patients had subclavian steal syndrome, eight patients had thoracic outlet compression, and six patients had iatrogenic injuries of the upper limb arteries. Fifty-five thromboembolectomies were performed, 37 under locoregional anesthesia. Ten patients (18.2%) died from cardiopulmonary causes following embolectomy. Fifteen reversed saphenous vein bypass grafts were performed for traumatic damage. Twenty-seven patients had a primary repair, and five required a vein patch. One patient subsequently had an arm amputation, and two patients died. Twelve patients presenting with chronic arm ischemia had a subclavian angioplasty, 12 patients had a proximal bypass, and in 5 patients, stenoses were stented. The mortality in this group was 6.9% (2 of 29). The mortality for upper limb revascularization was 8.7%. Almost all deaths occurred after upper limb embolectomy, and the mortality of this procedure was similar to that of lower limb embolectomy. Deaths were the result of cardiac comorbidity, and this should be actively sought and treated if outcomes are to improve.


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