Nerve root lesion of brachial plexus intervertebral part diagnosed by high-resolution ultrasonography / 中华超声影像学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To evaluate the application of high-resolution ultrasonography in the diagnosis of nerve root lesion of cervical vertebra intervertebral foramen part. Methods Twenty-seven patients with root avulsion injury of brachial plexus intervertebral part and 8 patients with schwannoma of brachial plexus root were examined with high-resolution ultrasonography. Thirty healthy volunteers were involved for the sonographic imagings of normal brachial plexus intervertebral part. The ultrasound findings of the patients before operation were compared with surgical outcomes. Results The normal intervertebral part of brachial plexus were shown as hypoechoic tubular strucuture, which could be identified with cervical artery and transverse process used as landmarks for the intervertebral part of brachial plexus root. The detection ratios of normal intervertebral part for C5-C8 and outside part of braehial plexus were 100％. In 27 patients with root avulsion injury of intervertebral brachial plexus, the intervertebral nerve root were enlarged as hypoechoic area, with nerve dissected partly or disappearing, distal nerve parts outside the intervertebral foramen swelling, edema,or cerebrospinal fluid assembling as cystic masses. In 8 patients with schwannoma of brachial plexus root part, the spinal ganglia outside intervertebral foramen were shown as tumor-like hypoechoic mass, with blood supply shown inside. Conclusions High-resolution ultrasonography is of great value for early and convenient diagnosis of root avulsion injury and mass of brachial plexus intervertebral part, especially in community hospitals,which could provide important information for clinical therapy.