Neoplastic brachial plexopathy detected by ultrasonography in a patient with chronic cervicobrachialgia

We report here a case of neoplastic brachial plexopathy detected by musculoskeletal ultrasonography in a patient with chronic cervicobrachialgia. A 71-year-old man presented at Gülhane Military Medical Academy, Turkish Armed Forces Rehabilitation Center, Ankara, Turkey with a one-year history of cer...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of rehabilitation medicine 2012-02, Vol.44 (2), p.181-183
Main Authors: Kesikburun, Serdar, Omaç, Özlem Köroğlu, Taşkaynatan, Mehmet Ali, Özgül, Ahmet, Tan, Arif Kenan
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aged
Brachial Plexus Neuropathies - diagnostic imaging
Brachial Plexus Neuropathies - etiology
Chronic Disease
Chronic pain
Humans
Lesions
Magnetic resonance imaging
Male
Military forces
Pancoast Syndrome - complications
Pancoast Syndrome - diagnosis
Rehabilitation
Ultrasonography
Citations: Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:We report here a case of neoplastic brachial plexopathy detected by musculoskeletal ultrasonography in a patient with chronic cervicobrachialgia. A 71-year-old man presented at Gülhane Military Medical Academy, Turkish Armed Forces Rehabilitation Center, Ankara, Turkey with a one-year history of cervicobrachial pain radiating to the left arm and numbness in the medial aspect of the left arm and hand. He could not tolerate magnetic resonance imaging because his pain was exacerbated by cervical extension. Radiographs of his chest and cervical spine were normal. Ultrasound examination of the left brachial plexus revealed segmental fusiform swelling, suggestive for a compressing lesion. Magnetic resonance imaging of the brachial plexus performed under general anaesthesia revealed a left apical lung tumour (Pancoast) infiltrating the brachial plexus. Clinicians should consider neoplastic brachial plexopathy, which is an uncommon diagnosis, when evaluating patients with unrelenting and severe cervicobrachialgia. Musculoskeletal ultrasonography can be beneficial for examining brachial plexus lesions.
ISSN:1650-1977
1651-2081
DOI:10.2340/16501977-0914