Parsonage-Turner syndrome (acute brachial neuritis)

The cases of seven patients who had had acute brachial neuritis (Parsonage-Turner syndrome) were reviewed retrospectively. The patients had been followed for a mean of six years (range, three to ten years) after the onset of the symptoms. All patients had had an acute onset of intense pain in the shoulder without antecedent trauma. The pain decreased spontaneously and eventually resolved completely in all patients. Weakness in the shoulder had developed at a mean of approximately four weeks after the initial onset of pain. The weakness decreased spontaneously but very gradually in all patients; three patients had persistent, mild weakness at the most recent follow-up evaluation.