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Brachial plexitis: an unusual presentation in sickle cell disease
Published in Journal of Community Hospital Internal Medicine Perspectives, 2019
Mustafa Dawood, Justin McArthur, Abubakar Tauseef
The brachial plexus is a network of nerves that control the sensory and motor functions of the upper extremity. It is formed by the lower four cervical nerve roots (C5–C8) and first thoracic nerve root (T1). It is subdivided into root, trunks, division, and cords. Brachial plexitis is characterized by the acute onset of motor ± sensory loss of one or more nerves originated by the brachial plexus. It is described with different nomenclature as Parsonage–Turner Syndrome, hereditary neuralgic amyotrophy, acute brachial plexitis, idiopathic brachial plexitis, idiopathic brachial neuritis, paralytic brachial neuritis among others [1]. We present a case of 61-year-old woman with sickle cell disease (SCD) who presented with the acute onset of right upper extremity weakness and sensory loss that was diagnosed with brachial plexitis with the help of MRI and NCS/EMG studies.