Abstract
Brachial neuritis is a rare disorder affecting the brachial plexus. It is characterized by the acute onset of shoulder and arm pain followed by weakness, sensory loss and atrophy. Diagnosis is essentially clinical with electrophysiological investigations and imaging useful in excluding other differentials and supporting the diagnosis. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) usually does not show any pathology in the brachial plexus or spinal cord. We present a case of a patient who had brachial neuritis preceded by varicella zoster infection. This was supported by MRI which showed abnormal signal consistent with inflammatory changes in the brachial plexus.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Beghi E, Kurland LT, Mulder DW, Nicolosi A (1985) Brachial plexus neuropathy in the population of Rochester, Minnesota. Ann Neurol 18:320–323
Tsairis P, Dyck PJ, Mulder DW (1972) Natural history of brachial plexus neuropathy. Report on 99 patients. Arch Neurol 27:109–117
Weikers NJ, Mattson RH (1969) Acute paralytic brachial neuritis. A clinical and electrodiagnostic study. Neurology 19:1153–1158
Helms CA, Martinez S, Speer KP (1998) Acute brachial neuritis (Parsonage-Turner syndrome): MR imaging appearance—report of three cases. Radiology 207:255–259
Dill-Macky MJ, Song S, Silbert PL (2000) Magnetic resonance imaging features of subacute idiopathic brachial neuritis. Australas Radiol 44:98–100
Tonali P (1983) So-called neuralgic amyotrophy: clinical features and long term follow-up. Ital J Neurol Sci 4:431–437
DePalma AF (1983) Shoulder-arm-hand pain of mesodermal, neurogenic, and vascular origin. In: DePalma AF (ed) Surgery of the shoulder, 3rd edn. Lippincott, Philadelphia, pp 597–598
Miller JD, Pruitt S, McDonald TJ (2000) Acute brachial plexus neuritis: an uncommon cause of shoulder pain. Am Fam Physician 62:2067–2072
Tetzlaff JE, Dilger J, Yap E, Brems J (1997) Idiopathic brachial plexitis after total shoulder replacement with interscalene brachial plexus block. Anesth Analg 85:644–646
Suarez GA, Giannini C, Bosch EP et al (1996) Immune brachial plexus neuropathy: suggestion for an inflammatory-immune pathogenesis. Neurology 46:559–561
Effron M, Singh R, Custodio C, Stubblefield M (2005) Poster 37: brachial neuritis after varicella-zoster virus infection in an adult man with breast cancer: a case report. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 86(9):e13
Waxman S (1979) The flexion-adduction sign in neuralgic amyotrophy. Neurology 29:1301–1304
Bacevich BB (1976) Paralytic brachial neuritis. Case report. J Bone Joint Surg Am 58A:262–263
Walsh NE, Dumitru D, Kalantri A, Roman AM Jr (1987) Brachial neuritis involving the bilateral phrenic nerves. Arch Phys Med Rehabil l68:46–48
McCarty EC, Tsairis P, Warren RF (1999) Brachial neuritis. Clin Orthop Relat Res 368:37–43
Acknowledgments
No grant support.
Conflict of interest statement
None.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ayoub, T., Raman, V. & Chowdhury, M. Brachial neuritis caused by varicella-zoster diagnosed by changes in brachial plexus on MRI. J Neurol 257, 1–4 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00415-009-5266-4
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00415-009-5266-4