Prognosis of traumatic ulnar, median and radial nerves injuries in children: systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective. Damage to peripheral nerves has a strong impact on the life of patients, as the absence during the care provided can lead to disability. It is important to determine the prognostic factors that affect the outcome of the disease. Material and methods. During the initial selection, 1902 publications (PubMed) and 675 results were found using the Google Scholar database. From the initially identified search results, an analysis of 5 papers was carried out. Results. The total number of patients with peripheral nerve injuries of the upper extremities was 120. The average age of patients is (9.1 ± 1.5) years old. The conducted meta-analysis of the difference in the average values of recovery of motor function of peripheral nerves after surgery showed: the final increase in the recovery rate of motor function, depending on age, was 0.47 (0.08–0.87) %, p < 0.02; the final increase in the recovery rate of motor function, depending on the level of damage, was 0.71 (0.27–1.13) %, p < 0.02. Conclusion. The obtained results showed the prognostic value of such indicators as age at the time of surgery and the level of damage. Thus, we can confidently say that the smaller the age of the child and the more distal the level of damage, the better results can be expected after surgery.