Tactile Perception of the Hand in Children With an Upper Neonatal Brachial Plexus Palsy.

Objective: To investigate factors that cause impairment of hand function in children with an upper Neonatal Brachial Plexus Palsy (NBPP), we performed an in-depth analysis of tactile hand sensibility, especially the ability to correctly localize a sensory stimulus on their fingers.

Design: A cross-sectional investigation of children with NBPP, compared with healthy controls. The thickest Semmes-Weinstein (SW) monofilament was pressed on the radial or ulnar part of each fingertip (10 regions), while a screen prevented seeing the hand.

Growth and neurodevelopment in low birth weight versus normal birth weight infants from birth to 24 months, born in an obstetric emergency hospital in Haiti, a prospective cohort study.

Background: Low birthweight (LBW) infants are at higher risk of mortality and morbidity (growth, chronic disease and neurological problems) during their life. Due to the high incidence of (pre-) eclampsia in Haiti, LBW infants are common. We assessed the anthropometric growth (weight and length) and neurodevelopmental delay in LBW and normal birthweight (NBW) infants born at an obstetric emergency hospital in Port au Prince, Haiti, between 2014 and 2017.

What Range of Motion is Achieved 5 Years After External Rotationplasty of the Shoulder in Infants with an Obstetric Brachial Plexus Injury?

Background: Obstetric brachial plexus injuries result from traction injuries during delivery, and 30% of these children have persisting functional limitations related to an external rotation deficit of the shoulder. Little is known about the long-term effect of soft-tissue procedures of the shoulder in patients with obstetric brachial plexus injuries.

Questions/purposes: (1) After soft-tissue release for patients with passive external rotation less than 20° and age younger than 2 years and for patients older than 2 years with good external rotation strength, what are the improvements in passive external rotation and abduction arcs at 1 and 5 years? (2) For patients who underwent staged tendon transfer after soft-tissue release, what are the improvements in active external rotation and abduction arcs at 1 and 5 years? (3) For patients with passive external rotation less than 20° and no active external rotation, what are the improvements in active external rotation and abduction arcs at 1 and 5 years?

Methods: This was a retrospective analysis of a longitudinally maintained institutional database.

Sensibility of the Hand in Children With Conservatively or Surgically Treated Upper Neonatal Brachial Plexus Lesion.

Background: The aim of this study was to assess the sensibility of the hand in children with a neonatal brachial plexus palsy (NBPP) involving the C5 and C6, and to correlate results with dexterity.

Methods: Fifty children with NBPP (30 after nerve surgery, mean age 9.8 years) and 25 healthy controls (mean age 9.

Hand Sensibility in Healthy Young Children.

Background: The aims of the study were (1) to assess hand sensibility in healthy young children using instruments validated for adults; (2) to identify which test tools are suitable; and (3) to compare the dominant and nondominant sides.

Methods: Twenty-five healthy children aged seven to 11 years (mean = 9.5 years) were investigated.

Impaired Automatic Arm Movements in Obstetric Brachial Plexus Palsy Suggest a Central Disorder.

The authors aimed to find evidence for a central component of the impairment of movement of the affected arm in children with obstetric brachial plexus palsy. The authors performed a cross-sectional study in 19 children (median age 5 years) with obstetric brachial plexus palsy who were able to voluntarily abduct their affected arm beyond 90 degrees. They were asked to perform 4 tasks designed to provoke automatic arm movements to maintain balance.

Obstetric brachial plexus lesions and central developmental disability.

Aims: First, to assess whether children with an Obstetric Brachial Plexus Lesion (OBPL) have a higher incidence of Central Developmental Disability (CDD) compared to the general population. Second, to test the ability of General Movements (GMs) to identify CDD children already at three months of age.

Study Design: A prospective cohort study for infants referred to our tertiary nerve lesion clinic.

Needle electromyography at 1 month predicts paralysis of elbow flexion at 3 months in obstetric brachial plexus lesions.

Aim: Treatment decisions in obstetric brachial plexus lesions are often based on clinical paralysis of elbow flexion at 3 months of age, when electromyography (EMG) is misleading because motor unit potentials (MUPs) occur in clinically paralytic muscles. We investigated whether EMG at 1 week or 1 month identifies infants with flexion paralysis at 3 months, allowing early referral.

Method: Forty-eight infants (27 females, 21 males) were prospectively studied.