Upper extremity peripheral nerve assessment

Peripheral nerve injuries are an unfortunate and serious complication of trauma and medical interventions. By anticipating which patients are more likely to experience such problems, emergency care personnel can carefully assess and document a person's nerve function. This should be done on contact with the patient, preceding and after any interventions that may aggravate the problem. This allows the nurse to provide a baseline of information that can be used to initiate immediate care if necessary or to document the onset of problems.