Pain syndromes and neuralgic amyotrophy of brachial plexus - a contribution to differential diagnostics
Abstract
Neuralgic amyotrophy of brachial plexus is a disease beginning with acute pains, which are most often in the region of shoulder, cervical spine or arm and subsequently develop in a motor deficit. The pain is caused by affection of various parts of brachial plexus and peripheral neuropathic pain is therefore present the case. The authors concentrated to five patients examined in the years 2003 - 2006, where this diagnosis was established. In these patients they concentrated to the beginning period of the disease, the various pain syndromes predominated. The following items were examined:
1. interval between the origin of the pain and the evolution of the motor deficit and duration of pain,
2. the first diagnostic conclusion,
3. localization of the pain,
4. character of muscular weakness and electromyographic finding. The pains were in all cases wrongly considered as a symptom of involvement of locomotor apparatus, either affected shoulder joint or a vertebrogenic disorder. It has become obvious that pain is rather specific at the beginning of the disease and it can make differential diagnostics in the beginning period easier.