Brachial plexus injury associated with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation
Manoj K Mittal1, Gregory J Schears, Eelco F Wijdicks
1Department of Neurology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55905, USA. drmanojkumarmittal@gmail.com
Introduction:
Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is a cardiopulmonary support system. We present 2 patients of ECMO-related brachial plexus injury.
Methods:
Patients were selected from a registry of 154 patients treated with ECMO from January 2002 to September 2011.
Results:
Five patients had unilateral arm weakness after the initiation of ECMO therapy. There was no neurological examination or electrophysiological testing data available for 3 patients. Diagnosis of brachial plexus injury was confirmed in 2 patients, one based on neurological examination and one based on electrophysiological testing.
Discussion:
Axillary artery cannulation resulting in hematoma formation was identified as a probable risk factor for brachial plexus injury in our 2 patients.
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