Epidemiology, etiology, and types of severe adult brachial plexus injuries requiring surgical repair: systematic review and meta-analysis

The literature describing epidemiology, etiology, and types of serious brachial plexus injuries (BPIs) is sparse. The aim of this review was to investigate the epidemiological and etiopathogenetical data of serious BPIs undergoing surgical reconstruction. A systematic search was conducted from January 1985 to December 2017. All studies that reported data about prevalence of specific types and causes of BPIs in adults treated surgically were included and cumulatively analyzed. Ten studies including 3032 patients were identified. The pooled prevalence of closed BPIs was 93% (95% CI: 87–97%), lacerations accounted for 3% (95% CI: 1–6%), and gunshot wounds (GSWs) for 3% (95% CI: 0–7%). The prevalence of male patients was 93% (95% CI: 90–96%) and female cases 7% (95% CI: 4–10%). The most common cause of closed BPI was motorcycle accidents with 67% (95% CI: 49–82%) prevalence followed by car crashes with 14% (95% CI: 8–20%). Other causes were rare. Ninety percent (95% CI: 78–98%) of patients suffered from a supraclavicular or combined supra-/infraclavicular trauma, while 10% (95% CI: 2–22%) from isolated infraclavicular injury. The prevalence of complete lesions was 53% (95% CI: 47–58%) followed by upper plexus lesion with 39% (95% CI: 31–48%) and lower plexus injury with 6% (95% CI: 1–12%). This meta-analysis demonstrates that the typical patient suffering from severe BPI is a male after motorcycle accident with closed supraclavicular injury causing complete or slightly less commonly upper plexus palsy. Lacerations and GSWs of brachial plexus are rare.