Abstract
Objective This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of brachial plexus injuries and to characterize
clinically and epidemiologically patients with brachial plexus injury.
Materials and Methods In this cross-sectional descriptive study, 2,923 medical records of patients aged
1 to 64 years who presented at outpatient peripheral nerve unit of the Orthopedic
Surgery Department of Hospital Roosevelt, Guatemala, from January 2017 to December
2017, were prospectively analyzed to identify the prevalence and factors associated
with brachial plexus injuries.
Results The prevalence rate of brachial plexus injuries in patients was 5.74%. This injury
is more common in men (90.5%) aged 24 to 64 years. Brachial plexus injuries occurred
secondary to motorcycle accident in 72% of the cases, with the majority affecting
the dominant upper extremity. In addition, 64.28% of the patients took 1 to 6 months
to seek consultation, whereas only 16.07% requested medical assistance <1 month from
the onset of symptoms, and this result was associated with early diagnosis and adequate
recovery during follow-up. Furthermore, 66.67% presented upper brachial plexus injury
with no associated fractures or vascular injury, manifesting distress while performing
daily activities that required hand, arm, and elbow movements.
Conclusion The risk of suffering BPIs in Guatemala increases in economically active male patients
that use motorcycles as main mode of transportation. Patients should consult immediately
after injury onset to optimize management results. For this reason, hospitals must
develop specialized clinical guidelines to speed up the identification and treatment
of BPI injuries.
Keywords
brachial plexus - injury - prevalence - characterization - upper extremity
