Diagnostic accuracy of 3 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging for children obstetric brachial plexus injury

Ngo Van Doan, Bui Van Giang, Nguyen Hong Ha, Vuong Kim Ngan

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Abstract

The objective of the study was to evaluate the diagnostic value of 3T MRI in diagnosing obstetric brachial plexus injury lesions in children. This was a prospective study, conducted on 47 patients who had clinical and electromyography manifestations of obstetric brachial plexus injury. All of the patients went through 3T MRI before surgery in Vinmec Hospital (Hanoi, Vietnam) from 09/2016 to 03/2020 and surgically treated (at Viet Duc and National Pediatric hospitals, Hanoi, Vietnam). The pre- and post-ganglionic injuries on MRI was correlated with intraoperative findings. Sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive predictive value and negative predictive value for diagnosis of pre-nodal lesions were 89.7%, 93.2%, 92.3%, 81.3% and 96.5% respectively; diagnosis of postganglionic nerve root rupture were 78.7%, 89.8%, 84.7%, 86.7% and 83.2% respectively; diagnosis of nerve root neuroma were 92.6%, 84.3%, 87.2%, 75.6% and 95.6% respectively. We concluded that 3T MRI is a non-invasive diagnostic method, with high accuracy in diagnosing obstetric brachial plexus injury lesions in children, both for pre- and post-ganglionic injuries.

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References

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