Prevalence and Pattern of Birth Brachial Plexus Injuries Seen in Nigeria

Birth brachial plexus injury (BBPI) is still one of the major causes of birth injury in Nigeria despite improved medical care. Physiotherapy, one of the main conservative managements, has some controversy. This study, therefore, assessed the prevalence and pattern of children with BBPI attending physiotherapy. A 10-year (January 2005-December 2014) retrospective analysis of children with BBPI was performed at the Department of Physiotherapy, Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospitals Complex, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. Data about patients' demographic and clinical variables were collected and analyzed using Statistical Program for Social Sciences for Windows version 22 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, Illinois, United States). BBPI constitutes 8.8% of all cases reviewed with a male-to-female ratio of 1.6:1. Their mean birth weight was 3.80 +/- 0.66 kg, with an average incidence rate of 4.1 per 1,000 live births. Vaginal delivery (74.6%) was the most common mode of delivery, and shoulder dystocia of 35.2% was the most implicated etiology of the condition. Most BBPI children were born in private hospitals (66.2%) with the first and fourth parity showing the highest cases (28.2% each). The middle class parents (47.9%) had the highest prevalence of children with BBPI and only 19.7% had a formal discharge. BBPI in Nigeria still has a high prevalence despite improved medical care. There should be an established continual interdisciplinary working relationship and standardized protocols or guidelines for the management of children with BBPI.