Traumatic brachial plexus injury: electrodiagnostic findings from 111 patients in a tertiary care hospital in India.

OBJECTIVE: The study aims to characterise the electrodiagnostic findings of patients with traumatic brachial plexus injuries (BPIs) in India and to analyse the association between aetiologies and levels of injuries.

METHODS: A total of 111 consecutive electrodiagnostic studies done between January 2009 and June 2011 on persons with traumatic BPI were retrospectively analysed.

SETTING: Electrodiagnostic Laboratory, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation in a tertiary care university teaching hospital in South India.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Nerve conduction velocities and electromyography (EMG) to locate the level of BPI, Dumitru and Wilbourne scale to assess the severity of BPI.

RESULTS: We studied 106 males and five females, ranging from 11 to 59 years of age. All but one had unilateral BPI. Motorcycle crashes were the most frequent cause (n=64, 58%). Isolated supraclavicular injury was found in 98 arms (88%) and infraclavicular injury in seven arms (6%). Root-level injuries were more common in motorcycle crashes and occupation-related trauma, while trunk-level injuries were more often found in automobile crashes, falls, bicycle-related trauma and penetrating wounds. Pan root (C5-T1) involvement was more common in the motorcycle trauma group (74%). There was no significant association between aetiologies and levels of BPIs. A total of 73 (65%) plexus injuries were of 'severe' category as per Dumitru and Wilbourn scale.

CONCLUSIONS: Motorcycle crash is the most common cause of traumatic BPIs. Supraclavicular injury is the rule in most cases. Proper attention needs to be given to differentiate the mild to moderate injuries from the severe injuries with EMG techniques since most of the cases are severe. There was no significant association found between aetiologies and levels of injury.