Epidemiologic Profile of Brachial Plexus Traumatic Lesions in Adults at an Outpatient Clinic in Minas Gerais

This study aimed to raise demographic and epidemiological aspects as well as the time until surgery in patients with brachial plexus injury in Minas Gerais, Brazil. Forty-seven patients who underwent surgery were evaluated retrospectively in the period 2010 to 2011. The majority (91.5%) were male, mean age 34.4 years; 56.5% were single or separated; 55.3%, from the countryside of Minas Gerais. With regard to schooling, 47.8% had not completed elementary school level. Most of them (43.5%) had a heavy duty job, including houseworking, agriculture, industry. Traffic accidents were the main cause of the injury (97.9%); and motorcycle accidents accounted for 68.1% of the lesions. The time between the accident and the first view by brachial plexus specialist ranged from 1 month to 30 months. The time between query and specialized surgical treatment ranged from 5 to 18 months, mean 10 months. This study points out the epidemiological characteristics of patients with brachial plexus injuries in Minas Gerais, Brazil. Most of the injuries occurred after motorcycle accident in male patients with unfavorable social and economic conditions. In addition, the surgical timing was far above the recommended, resulting in an unfavorable prognosis for functional recovery.