Parsonage-Turner Syndrome is characterized by which of the following?

Parsonage-Turner Syndrome is characterized by which of the following?

• A. Chronic Inflammatory Arthritis
• B. Brachial Neuritis With Shoulder Pain, Weakness, Wasting, and Potential Long Thoracic Nerve Palsy
• C. Frozen Shoulder
• D. SLAP Lesion

Answer: (B)

Parsonage-Turner syndrome is acute brachial neuritis of the shoulder. It starts with sudden, often severe shoulder pain, which is followed by weakness and muscle wasting. The weakness can involve nerves that supply the shoulder girdle, and the long thoracic nerve is a common culprit, leading to serratus anterior weakness and scapular winging. This pattern of abrupt neuropathic shoulder pain followed by weakness and possible long thoracic nerve palsy best fits Parsonage-Turner. This differs from chronic inflammatory arthritis, which involves joint inflammation and swelling rather than a sudden neuropathic process; from frozen shoulder, which is characterized by progressive stiffness and loss of motion due to capsular tightness rather than nerve injury; and from a SLAP lesion, which is an intra-articular labral tear causing mechanical symptoms rather than acute neuropathic pain with nerve palsy.

Parsonage-Turner syndrome is acute brachial neuritis of the shoulder. It starts with sudden, often severe shoulder pain, which is followed by weakness and muscle wasting. The weakness can involve nerves that supply the shoulder girdle, and the long thoracic nerve is a common culprit, leading to serratus anterior weakness and scapular winging. This pattern of abrupt neuropathic shoulder pain followed by weakness and possible long thoracic nerve palsy best fits Parsonage-Turner.

This differs from chronic inflammatory arthritis, which involves joint inflammation and swelling rather than a sudden neuropathic process; from frozen shoulder, which is characterized by progressive stiffness and loss of motion due to capsular tightness rather than nerve injury; and from a SLAP lesion, which is an intra-articular labral tear causing mechanical symptoms rather than acute neuropathic pain with nerve palsy.