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Postsurgical idiopathic brachial neuritis
Author(s) -
Malamut Richard I.,
Marques Wilson,
England John D.,
Sumner Austin J.
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
muscle and nerve
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.025
H-Index - 145
eISSN - 1097-4598
pISSN - 0148-639X
DOI - 10.1002/mus.880170310
Subject(s) - medicine , brachial plexus , brachial plexopathy , surgery , neuritis , amyotrophy , anesthesia , atrophy
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. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.