Epidemiological characteristics of surgically treated civilian traumatic brachial plexus injuries in Serbia.

Background: Traumatic brachial plexus injuries are generally severe, and in many cases associated with surrounding tissue injuries, which makes them hard to diagnose at the right time. This paper presents etiological and epidemiological characteristics of surgically treated civilian traumatic brachial plexus injuries.

Methods: This retrospective study included 68 patients, operated due to the traumatic brachial plexus injuries at Clinic for Neurosurgery, Clinical Center of Serbia, during the 11-year period.

Results: The vast majority of injured patients were men in full working maturity. In our study, there were seven different etiological factors. The road traffic accidents were the most common-41 (60.3%), while the motorcycle accidents were the most dominant subtype (53.7%) of all road traffic accidents, and also representing 32.4% of all causes of trauma. Supraclavicular elements of the brachial plexus were injured in more than 80% of patients. A total of 49 (72.1%) patients from our study had one or more associated injuries. The most common associated injuries were bone fractures, brain contusions, and vascular injuries.

Conclusion: Although rare, non-war-related severe brachial plexus injuries represent a group of patients carrying high risk of insufficient functional recovery regardless of treatment modality, or surgical technique. Epidemiological and etiological data are therefore very important to identify the groups in risk and to induce preventive actions aimed at these patients.