Natural History of Brachial Plexus Neuropathy

A clinical analysis of 99 patients with brachial plexus neuropathy (BPN) and the outcome of 84 of these patients are presented. The disease may involve the upper, the lower, or the entire plexus; the involvement may be complete or incomplete, and it may often be bilateral. Although the etiologic factor or factors remain unknown, our studies support the contention that this form of neuropathy is a clinical entity with, in most cases, a fairly typical pattern of symptoms and signs. The overall prognosis is excellent despite the severity and extent of the lesion. There is no apparent difference in the clinical aspects and recovery rates between patients who had antecedent immunizations and those who did not. While improvement may begin in one to two months, complete functional recovery may not be achieved for up to three years or longer in some cases.