Postsurgical idiopathic brachial neuritis

Abstract

Idiopathic brachial neuritis (IBN) is a well-recognized clinical syndrome characterized by brachial pain followed by a patchy amyotrophy of muscles in the shoulder girdle and arm innervated by individual branches of the brachial plexus. Postsurgical IBN has not been widely recognized since Parsonage and Turner's original description in which 10% of patients had antecedent surgery. We present 6 patients who 1-13 days postoperatively developed signs and symptoms which met the clinical and electrophysiologic criteria for IBN. Postsurgical neuralgic amyotrophy is an under-recognized clinical entity which in most cases is ascribed to brachial plexus stretch injuries occurring during anesthesia. Early recognition of this condition may prevent unnecessary surgical exploration and allow for a more accurate prediction of functional recovery.

Causes of neuromuscular weakness in the intensive care unit: A study of ninety-two patients

“…Five recently underwent liver transplantation and 1 had a thoracotomy, and it was thought that the plexopathies were due either to stretch injuries or trauma from axillary vein cannulations. 23 Postoperative ParsonageTurner syndromes 31 could not be excluded. Another was in a motor vehicle accident and had multiple upper extremity fractures.…”

Clinical and neurophysiological features of the hereditary neuropathy with liability to pressure palsy due to the 17p11.2 deletion

“…In our study, one patient had unilateral clinical and neurophysiological impairment of the upper trunk of the brachial plexus. This is a very uncommonly referred presentation that is more frequent in women 2 and that should be differentiated from acute brachial neuritis 26 and other plexopathies that are usually painful 27 . On nerve conduction studies, most of our patients (94.0%) presented an EMG pattern of an asymmetric sensorimotor neuropathy with focal slowing of nerve conduction, suggesting a mononeuritis multiplex pattern.…”

Safety and Efficacy of Isola Instrumentation and Arthrodesis for Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis

“…These findings were interpreted as being consistent with post-surgical idiopathic brachial plexitis. 43 All of these peripheral neurologic complications resolved except for the patient with bilateral brachial plexitis who had mild bilateral shoulder girdle weakness at 2 years follow-up.…”