[anonymous_no_more]

http://www.aans.org/education/journa...4/16-5-pa1.pdf

hypothesis:
..."when peripheral nerve surgeons are provided with the clinical details of a patient with a BPI, significant treatment-related disagreement will be observed."

..."it is hoped that the results of this survey will provide the less experienced practitioner with an overview of various brachial plexus lesions and the management approaches most often used by more experienced surgeons."

(BPI: brachial plexus injury)

*********(my comments)**************
Although the focus of this article is traumatic brachial plexopathies, I assume that much of the disagreement concerning how to identify any form of brachial plexus neuropathy, determine appropriate treatment, find consensus among other specialists, would also apply to those who display signs/symptoms of a brachial plexus compression (at any level/location), but are not as severely dysfunctional. (TO "syndrome")

Again, the lack of standardization in diagnosing nerve injury in the brachial plexus seems to be one very large hurdle to getting consistent recognition, and appropriate treatment as quickly as possible. If one doesn't have a very obvious, severe BP injury (ie, flail arm, nerve avulsion) then getting help would seem all that more difficult.

This article also reinforces how complex the brachial plexus is, how dysfunction of its nerves, nerve bundles may present with any number of problems that may or may not always create the same amount of physical impairment in any one individual.

It is also enlightening to see how variable a patient may be treated, even when very obvious BP injury is present.