scholarly journals Brachial Plexus Injury: Recent Diagnosis and Management

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (F) ◽  
pp. 13-24
Author(s):  
Tito Sumarwoto ◽  
Heri Suroto ◽  
Ferdiansyah Mahyudin ◽  
Dwikora Novembri Utomo ◽  
Seti Aji Hadinoto ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Brachial Plexus ◽  
Daily Living ◽  
Brachial Plexus Injury ◽  
Activity Of Daily Living ◽  
Basic Principles ◽  
Economic Problems ◽  
Limb Injuries ◽  
History Of ◽  
Complete Physical Examination ◽  
Recent Diagnosis

Brachial plexus injury is known to be one of the most serious upper limb injuries, causes paralysis of the upper limbs and changes in activity of daily living, with the consequence disruption of activity of daily living, socio-economic problems, depression, and hopelessness. Management must be done properly. The evaluation and examination consist of detailed anamnesis on chronological events, complete physical examination, imaging studies, and electrophysiology study. Management can be done nonsurgically and surgically. Knowledge of the history of injury, timing of surgery, priority in restoring function, and managing patient expectations are important concepts in treating patient with brachial plexus injury. Timing is a very important thing. The results of these interventions vary depending on several parameters. Recognizing the basic principles of managing brachial plexus injuries is indispensable for all clinicians who treat these injuries.

scholarly journals Correlation between motor function recovery and daily living activity outcomes after brachial plexus surgery

2017 ◽  
Vol 75 (9) ◽  
pp. 631-634
Author(s):  
Sonia Regina Ferreira ◽  
Roberto Sérgio Martins ◽  
Mário G. Siqueira
Keyword(s):  
Brachial Plexus ◽  
Motor Function ◽  
Clinical Evaluation ◽  
Daily Living ◽  
Brachial Plexus Injury ◽  
Nerve Transfer ◽  
Daily Living Activities ◽  
Daily Living Activity ◽  
Function Recovery ◽  
Dash Questionnaire

ABSTRACT Objective To establish the correlation between clinical evaluation of motor function recovery and daily living activities in 30 patients with upper traumatic brachial plexus injury submitted to surgery. Methods The score of the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH) questionnaire and the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center (LSUHSC) scale were determined in 30 patients. Epidemiologic factors were also examined and correlations were determined. Results There was a significant correlation between the clinical evaluation and the daily living activities after a 12-month period (r = 0.479 and p = 0.007). A direct correlation was observed between the functional recovery of the upper limb and the time between injury and surgery (r = 0.554 and p = 0.001). The LSUHSC scores (p = 0.049) and scores from the DASH questionnaire (p = 0.013) were better among patients who returned to work. Conclusions Clinical evaluation and daily living activities in adult patients who underwent nerve transfer after brachial plexus injury showed significant and measurable improvements.

scholarly journals O09 Recurring brachial plexopathy- the zebra among the horses

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Brooke Mara
Keyword(s):  
Case Report ◽  
Brachial Plexus ◽  
Upper Limb ◽  
Brachial Plexus Injury ◽  
Mechanism Of Injury ◽  
Limb Pain ◽  
History Of ◽  
Upper Limb Pain ◽  
The Right

Abstract Case report - Introduction A case study of a teenage boy presenting with severe upper limb pain and recurring loss of upper limb function with no clear mechanism of injury. His progress in therapy was initially as expected; however, symptoms would recur despite consistency and compliance with treatment from the patient. This led to a referral for further investigations where a diagnosis of a rare inflammatory neurological condition was made. This case study is relevant for paediatric physiotherapists working in non-inflammatory, musculoskeletal and pain services as it highlights a lesser-known pathology that presents in a similar way to a more common condition. Case report - Case description M is a 13-year-old boy that presented with a 5-week history of stabbing pains followed by loss of motor function and sensation in his right arm after swinging a remote. A diagnosis of brachial nerve plexopathy had been suggested. M had been diagnosed with Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (hEDS) but was otherwise fit and well with no significant birth, developmental or family history. He experienced similar episodes of loss of motor function throughout the entire right upper limb following an episode of acute pain aged 4 and aged 12. The episodes were presumed to be a brachial plexus injury following a shoulder subluxation; however, there was no real mechanism of injury to suggest this and symptoms self-resolved after several months in both instances. Age 8 he lost function and sensation in the left arm after a minor pulled elbow, he underwent elbow surgery at another centre to help restore the function of the left arm; however, function didn’t return for approximately 1 year. On examination he had diminished reflexes throughout the right upper limb and reduced sensation along a C3-8 & T1 distribution. He had a correctable thoracic spine kyphosis with significant medial boarder scapula winging on the right. His right shoulder sat lower than the left and he had muscle atrophy at right supraspinatus, infraspinatus, and serratus anterior and deltoid with tight pectoral muscles. He was compensating using upper trapezius to achieve 90—100 degrees of shoulder flexion and abduction with 2/5 muscle power. His elbow muscle strength was reduced to 4/5 in all movements on the right. He could only actively extend his right wrist to 30 degrees and only had flickers of active radial deviation. He lacked active finger extension in digits 2-5 and had 0/5 muscle activity at the right thumb. Case report - Discussion M underwent exercise therapy with a focus on regaining scapula control in lying and isometric rotator cuff strengthening as he had such significant wasting and was unable to control the upper limb in sitting. We also worked on improving his thoracic spine posture and on active assisted finger and wrist exercises to prevent contractures. I initially provided a sling to be worn at school and in busy environments to prevent any subluxations in view of his significant rotator cuff weakness and history of hEDS. The sling also served as a thoracic posture reminder for M. After just 2—3 weeks of input and initially making gains in strength and function, M had an episode of severe pain in the right shoulder followed by worsening motor and sensory symptoms. The recurrent nature of episodes and the weak mechanism of injury, led me to discuss M with a consultant. The consultant referred M to genetics where it was discovered he had idiopathic neuralgic amyotrophy (INA; also known as Parsonage—Turner Syndrome), a rare inflammatory neurological disorder. M had the classic signs and symptoms of INA but as he had presented to various different clinicians and centres with each episode a correlation wasn’t made until this latest presentation to pain clinic Case report - Key learning points The insubstantial mechanism of injury for his current presentation (motor loss from swinging a remote) led me to probe further into past episodes of his upper limb pain.  This information spurred me to research alternative causes of his symptoms and discuss the case with a consultant who made an onward referral. As physiotherapists we are highly likely to receive referrals for patients like M, with little more information than ‘shoulder pain’ or ‘brachial plexus injury’ given, which is why our subjective is such an important part of the overall assessment.  M’s case highlights how important collating an extensive medical history is to proper investigation and eventual diagnosis. M had a long history of upper limb events for which he had seen a variety of clinicians at various centres. Each event had been treated as an individual episode rather than one larger recurring pattern. Drawing that history together gave a more holistic picture which triggered the referral that identified a diagnosis 8 years after his first presentation to healthcare. M’s case also highlighted the importance of a good patient—therapist relationship. Motivating a patient with this type of condition is challenging; their progress is not linear and they often have to take steps backwards before they can progress again. This is exceptionally difficult for children and their parents, as it is a frustrating and repetitive cycle. They need to trust that you are giving them the correct therapy and as a therapist you need to trust that the patient is compliant with recommendations and exercise. Finally, the shoulder rehabilitation for M was, clinically speaking, the same as any other brachial plexus type injury. The main key difference was the need to intermittently take the exercises down a level in the incidence of a new episode of pain and motor loss.

scholarly journals Multidisciplinary Consensus: Brachial Plexus Injuries. Basic Principles of Diagnostics and Treatment

2020 ◽  
pp. 118-122
Author(s):  
V.I. Tsymbaliuk ◽  
S.S. Strafun ◽  
I.B. Tretiak ◽  
O.V. Borzykh ◽  
I.M. Kurinnyi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Brachial Plexus ◽  
Upper Extremity ◽  
Brachial Plexus Injury ◽  
Round Table ◽  
Shoulder Girdle ◽  
Significant Loss ◽  
Diagnosis And Treatment ◽  
Basic Principles ◽  
Extremity Function ◽  
Upper Extremity Function

Summary. Brachial plexus injuries is a severe and debilitating trauma characterized by gross impairment of upper extremity function. Mostly this is the trauma of young active people of working age, which often leads to significant loss of upper extremity function and disability of the patient. On October 10, 2019, at the XVIII Congress of Orthopedists Traumatologists of Ukraine held in Ivano-Frankivsk, a round table was held on the basic issues of diagnosis and treatment of patients with brachial plexus injuries, and a multidisciplinary consensus was adopted on the basic principles of diagnosis and treatment of brachial plexus injuries. During the round table, the issues of determining risk groups for brachial plexus injury (patients with polytrauma, road trafic accident, patients with injuries of the shoulder girdle area, dislocations of the shoulder, open lesions of the shoulder girdle and subclavian area, patients with atypical pain in the shoulder, patients that lost upper extremity function after surgery in the supraclavicular and subclavian area, neck, mastectomy, radiation therapy) and the protocol of clinical examination of patients (which must include the possibility of active movements in the joints of the upper limb and stabilization of the scapula; it is obligatory to determine the strength of the muscles of the affected limb in comparison with the healthy one, to determine sensitivity in the corresponding areas of autonomous innervation of the roots; also it is important to determine Horner syndrome) were discussed. Also, the place and time of additional diagnostics methods (emergency ultrasound and radiography, after 3 weeks – needle and stimulation electroneuromyography (ENMG), MRI of the brachial plexus or cervical spine, CT myelography) and an algorithm for the supervision of patients with a brachial plexus injury were adopted; the centers of brachial plexus surgery were specified. All this later formed the basis of multidisciplinary consensus.

scholarly journals Case Report: Bionic Reconstruction in an Adult With Obstetric Brachial Plexus Injury

2022 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Boesendorfer ◽  
Agnes Sturma ◽  
Clemens Gstoettner ◽  
Anna Pittermann ◽  
Gregor Laengle ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Brachial Plexus ◽  
Daily Living ◽  
Brachial Plexus Injury ◽  
Hand Function ◽  
Functional Improvement ◽  
Prosthetic Fitting ◽  
Obstetric Brachial Plexus ◽  
Bionic Reconstruction ◽  
Obstetric Brachial Plexus Injury

Introduction: Many adults who had a severe Narakas IV obstetric brachial plexus injury (OBPI) suffer from extensive impairments in daily living due to limited hand-arm function. The dramatic loss of axonal support at this very early age of development often render the entire extremity a biologic wasteland and reconstructive methods and therapies often fail to recover any functional hand use. In this scenario bionic reconstruction, including an elective amputation and a subsequent prosthetic fitting, may enable functional improvement in adults suffering from the consequences of such severe brachial plexus injuries. We here describe our experience in treating such patients and lay out the surgical rational and rehabilitation protocol exemplified in one patient.Case Presentation/Methods: A 27-year-old adult with a unilateral OBPI contacted our center. He presented with globally diminished function of the affected upper extremity with minimal hand activity, resulting in an inability to perform various tasks of daily living. No biological reconstructive efforts were available to restore meaningful hand function. An interdisciplinary evaluation, including a psychosocial assessment, was used to assess eligibility for bionic reconstruction. Before the amputation and after the prosthetic fitting functional assessments and self-reported questionnaires were performed.Results: One month after the amputation and de-rotation osteotomy of the humerus the patient was fitted with a myoelectric prosthesis. At the 1.5 year-follow-up assessment, the patient presented with a distinct improvement of function: the ARAT improved from 12 to 20 points, SHAP score improved from 8 to 29, and the DASH value improved from 50 to 11.7. The average wearing times of the prosthesis were 5 to 6 h per day (on 4–5 days a week).Discussion: The options for adults suffering from the consequences of severe OBPIs to improve function are limited. In selected patients in whom the neurological deficit is so severe that biologic hand function is unsatisfactory, an elective amputation and subsequent restoration of the hand with mechatronic means may be an option. The follow-up results indicate that this concept can indeed lead to solid hand function and independence in daily activities after amputation, subsequent prosthetic fitting, and rehabilitation.

Comparative Analysis: The State of Colorado Study, Part II

2004 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Christopher R. Brigham ◽  
Kathryn Mueller ◽  
Douglas Van Zet ◽  
Debra J. Northrup ◽  
Edward B. Whitney ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Daily Living ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
Pain Syndrome ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Clinical Assessments ◽  
Physician Judgment ◽  
History Of ◽  
Key Terms ◽  
Causation Analysis ◽  
Work Interference

Abstract [Continued from the January/February 2004 issue of The Guides Newsletter.] To understand discrepancies in reviewers’ ratings of impairments based on different editions of the AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment (AMA Guides), users can usefully study the history of the revisions as successive editions attempted to provide a comprehensive, valid, reliable, unbiased, and evidence-based system. Some shortcomings of earlier editions have been addressed in the AMA Guides, Fifth Edition, but problems remain with each edition, largely because of the limited scientific evidence available. In the context of the history of the different editions of the AMA Guides and their development, the authors discuss and contextualize a number of key terms and principles including the following: definitions of impairment and normal; activities of daily living; maximum medical improvement; impairment percentages; conversion of regional impairments; combining impairments; pain and other subjective complaints; physician judgment; and causation analysis; finally, the authors note that impairment is not synonymous with disability or work interference. The AMA Guides, Fifth Edition, contrasts impairment evaluations and independent medical evaluations (this was not done in previous editions) and discusses impairment evaluations, rules for evaluations, and report standards. Upper extremity and lower extremity impairment evaluations are discussed in terms of clinical assessments and rating processes, analyzing important changes between editions and problematic areas (eg, complex regional pain syndrome).

On the Publishing Infrastructure of the University and its Construction Principles

2010 ◽  
pp. 121-126
Author(s):  
Tatyana F. Berestova ◽  
Vera R. Abramovskih
Keyword(s):  
Research Library ◽  
Basic Principles ◽  
History Of ◽  
Publishing Infrastructure ◽  
Distribution Sector ◽  
The University

The basic principles of publishing activities in universities and their interrelation, all stages of redaction, the problems each of them, and ways to solve them. The activities of the distribution sector of publishing in the structure of the Research Library of Chelyabinsk State Academy of Culture and Arts and the history of its creation are described.

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