Study on the motor and sensory recovery of upper limb in the treatment of upper extremity nerve injury with combined suture of epineurium and perineurium

Abstract

Objective To investigate the clinical efficacy of combined suture of epineurium and perineurium on motor and sensory recovery of upper limbs with nerve injury. Methods From January 2017 to December 2017, 80 patients with upper limb nerve injury were retrospectively analyzed. Forty patients underwent epineurial suture repair (group A), and another 40 patients underwent combined epineurial and perineurial suture repair (group B). After 6 months of rehabilitation training, the clinical efficacy of nerve function, electrophysiological indexes and the improvement of quality of life of the two groups were compared and analyzed. Results The recovery of nerve function was compared between the two groups 6 months after operation. According to motor sensory grading criteria established by British Medical Research Institute, limb function was evaluated as excellent in 17 cases, good in 10 cases, fair in 6 cases and poor in 7 cases for group A with the excellent and good rate being 67.5%; evaluated as excellent in 22 cases, good in 11 cases, fair in 5 cases and poor in 2 cases for group B with the excellent and good rate being 82.5%. χ2 test showed that the excellent and good rate of group B was significantly higher than that of group A (P<0.05). The electrophysiological indexes including nerve conduction velocity and amplitude were better in group B than in group A (P<0.05). According to the quality of life assessment criteria established by WHO, the psychological function, social function, physical function and quality of life of the two groups were compared and analyzed. The results showed that the improvement degree of quality of life in group B was better than that in group A, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). Conclusion The combined suture of epineurium and perineurium for nerve repair in patients with upper limb nerve injury can achieve satisfactory clinical efficacy. The motor and sensory functions of affected limbs recover well and can be widely used in clinic. Key words: Upper extremity; Peripheral nerves; Nerve suture; Motor sensory function of limbs