The MRI diagnosis of infant brachial plexus injury

VernacularTitle:婴幼儿臂丛神经损伤的MRI诊断
Author: Yan ZHANG ¹ ; Wenjun CHEN ; Xiaoli WANG ; Huang HUANG ; Yongxi LIU ; Yihui ZENG ; Kuiming JIANG
Author Information

1. 广东省妇幼保健院放射科
Keywords: infant; brachial plexus injury; magnetic resonance imaging
From: Journal of Practical Radiology 2018;34(5):749-752
CountryChina
Language:Chinese
Abstract: Objective To evaluate the value of MRI in diagnosis of brachial plexus injury in infants.Methods MRI manifestations and electromyography(EMG) data of 14 cases were analyzed retrospectively.Kappa statistic was used to analyze the consistency between the two methods.Results Pure preganglionic injuries were found in 5 cases,preganglionic and postganglionic combined injuries occurred in 9 cases.MRI features of preganglionic injuries include:absence of roots in spinal canal (7 cases),nerve root enlargement (1 case),nerve sleeve dilation (3 cases),pseudomeningoceles (5 cases) and the dura thickening (3 cases).MRI features of postganglionic injuries include:trunk thickening with hyperintensity in STIR images(14 cases),adjacent structure disorder and edema (1 cases).The consistency of MRI and EMG was good (κ=0.752,P＜0.05).Conclusion MRI is an efficient method for demonstrating preganglionic and postganglionic injuries,and can provide reliable information for early diagnosis and treatment for brachial plexus injury in infants.