OBSTETRICAL BRACHIAL PLEXUS PALSY. PREDICTION OF OUTCOME IN UPPER ROOT INJURIES

Thirty obstetrical brachial plexus palsies involving the upper roots were retrospectively reviewed. There were 20 C5–C6 palsies and ten C5–C6–C7 palsies in which recovery of C7 occured by the end of the first month. Recovery of elbow flexion at 3 months, C7 involvement and high birthweight were the...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of hand surgery, British volume British volume, 2002-02, Vol.27 (1), p.9-12
Main Authors: NEHME, A, KANY, J, SALES-DE-GAUZY, J, CHARLET, J.P, DAUTEL, G, CAHUZAC, J.P
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Birth Weight
Brachial Plexus - injuries
Cervical Vertebrae - injuries
Chi-Square Distribution
Child
Child, Preschool
Elbow Joint - physiopathology
Female
Humans
Infant
Male
Paralysis, Obstetric - physiopathology
Prognosis
Recovery of Function
Retrospective Studies
Risk Factors
Spinal Nerve Roots - injuries
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Thirty obstetrical brachial plexus palsies involving the upper roots were retrospectively reviewed. There were 20 C5–C6 palsies and ten C5–C6–C7 palsies in which recovery of C7 occured by the end of the first month. Recovery of elbow flexion at 3 months, C7 involvement and high birthweight were the best early predictors of outcome, but all were unreliable when used separately. In combination, recovery of elbow flexion and birthweight predicted the final outcome reasonably satisfactorily, particularly when elbow flexion at 9 months, and not 3 months was considered (risk of error = 13%). Brachial plexus reconstruction may therefore be justified when there was initial C7 involvement associated with increased birthweight and poor elbow flexion at 6–9 months.
ISSN:0266-7681
1532-2211
DOI:10.1054/jhsb.2001.0655