EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDY OF TRAUMATIC BRACHIAL PLEXUS INJURIES

To conduct an epidemiological study on brachial plexus injuries, through data collection of patients treated in the Hospital São Paulo, which is the referral center for high complexity in this region.

We conducted a retrospective study with a review of the electronic medical records of the Hospital, from August 2008 to June 2013.

We estimated an 1.88/100,000 annual incidence, considering that the Hospital is the only referral center for brachial plexus injuries. The mean time between injury and the first visit to the reference hospital was 8.25 months. The mean time interval between injury and surgery was 11.25 months. The percentage of total injuries was 33%, while the upper and middle trunk injuries were 33% and 28%, respectively.

We observed many aspects in common with those reported by other centers of excellence in Brazil such as: sex, age and mechanism of injury. However, some findings were different from most other epidemiological studies, namely: level of injury, time between the accident and the first appointment and the time between injury and surgery.