ArticleBrain & spine2026
Improving lives: Health-related quality of life after surgery for traumatic brachial plexus lesions in a single center retrospective study.
Article in Brain & spine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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10 authors.
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Abstract
Introduction: Traumatic injuries of the brachial plexus are life-altering, associated with complex injury patterns and commonly affect young people. Since the introduction of brachial plexus microsurgery, studies have largely focused on improving motor outcomes without patient-reported outcome measures. Research question: To assess the development of quality of life after surgical treatment for traumatic injuries of the brachial plexus in addition to neurological outcome. Material and methods: This retrospective study investigated neurological outcome and health-related quality of life in 98 patients treated at Ulm University, District Hospital Günzburg between 1st January 2020 and 31st December 2023. EQ-5D-5L-, PainDetect- and two items of the PSQI-questionnaire were sent to all patients regarding their state before surgery and at last follow-up. Clinical data were gathered by chart review. Results: 62 patients returned the questionnaires. Mean follow-up was 22.3 months. MRC grade 2/5 or more was achieved in 59.5% of musculocutaneous nerve, 61.9% of axillary nerve and 54.8% or suprascapular nerve reconstructions. Mean health utility index increased from 0.41 (standard deviation ± 0.34) to 0.57 (±0.28) (p < 0.05) correlating with motor improvement (Spearmans's Rho 0.34, p < 0.05). PainDetect scores showed a significant reduction of mean values from 19.7 (±9.0) to 16.5 (±8.0) (p < 0.05). Sleep duration and quality showed a non-significant trend towards improvement. Discussion and conclusion: Brachial plexus surgery offers an invaluable possibility to improve patients' lives and a vital and oftentimes sole therapeutic opportunity for commonly young patients suffering from a profoundly life-altering condition.
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