Brachial plexus neuropathy is often seen in the military population, especially due to pressure (backpack palsy, BPP) or idiopathic (neuralgic amyotrophy, NA). We aimed to gain insight in the disease characteristics of soldiers with brachial plexus neuropathies in the Dutch military population and to compare disease characteristics between patients with BPP and NA. In this retrospective chart review study we aimed to include all patients with brachial plexus neuropathy, who presented in the Joint Military Hospital between 1 January, 2011 and 31 December, 2016. We calculated the incidence of NA and BPP and Chi‐square tests or Student t tests were performed for differences in patient characteristics between NA and BPP. We included 127 patients, 63 with BPP, 45 with NA, 10 with traumatic brachial plexus neuropathy, and 9 with other plexopathy. The incidence of brachial plexus neuropathy was 50/100 000 person years overall, 25/100 000 person years for BPP, and 18/100 000 person years for NA. Patients in the BPP group differed from the NA with regard to pain (BPP 41% vs NA 93%, P = .000), atrophy (13% BPP vs 29% NA, P = .049), and sensory symptoms (83% BPP vs 44% NA, P = .000). In the BPP group 90% had incomplete recovery and in the NA group 78%. Our study showed a high incidence of BPP and NA in the military population and suggests recovery is not so benevolent as previously thought. Future research is necessary to improve insight and outcome of military patients with brachial plexus neuropathies.

中文翻译：

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军人中的背包麻痹和其他臂丛神经病。

臂丛神经病常出现在军事人群中，尤其是由于压力（背包麻痹，BPP）或特发性（神经性肌萎缩症，NA）所致。我们旨在了解荷兰军人臂丛神经病士兵的疾病特征，并比较BPP和NA患者之间的疾病特征。在这项回顾性图表审查研究中，我们旨在纳入2011年1月1日至2016年12月31日期间在联合军事医院就诊的所有臂丛神经病患者。我们计算了NA和BPP的发生率以及卡方检验或学生Ť对NA和BPP之间的患者特征差异进行了测试。我们纳入了127例患者，其中BPP 63例，NA 45例，臂臂丛神经外伤10例，其他丛发症9例。臂丛神经病的总发生率为50/100 000人年，BPP为25/100 000人年，而NA为18/100 000人年。BPP组的患者在疼痛（BPP 41％vs NA 93％，P = .000），萎缩（13％BPP vs 29％NA，P = .049）和感觉症状（83％）方面与NA不同。BPP与44％NA，P= .000）。BPP组中90％的患者恢复不完全，而NA组中78％。我们的研究表明，军人中BPP和NA的发生率很高，并且表明康复并不像以前想象的那样仁慈。有必要进行进一步的研究来改善患有臂丛神经病的军人的见解和结局。