The diagnostic workup for the underlying acute coronary syndrome, infections (CMV, EBV, HIV, Mycoplasma, and Lyme disease), and rheumatological illnesses (ANA, rheumatoid factor, SSA/SSB, and ANCA) all came back negative. The imaging workup, which included magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the head, cervical spine, and thoracic spine, was performed with and without contrast and revealed no demyelination, fracture deformity, traumatic subluxation, or compressive myelopathy. The patient was found to have left lower trunk brachial plexopathy, including bilateral median neuropathies at the wrist and ulnar sensory neuropathy as per nerve conduction studies. In addition, a decrease in motor unit activation was observed in the bilateral first dorsal interosseous muscles and the right deltoid, biceps, and triceps muscles, as demonstrated by needle electromyography.
Author(s) Details:
Mohammad Asim Amjad
Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, The University of Texas Science Center at Houston, Houston, Texas, USA
Zamara Hamid
Internal Medicine, Shifa International Hospital, Islamabad, Pakistan.
Yamini Patel
Internal Medicine, The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Educations, Scranton, PA, USA.
Mujtaba Husain
Internal Medicine, The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Educations, Scranton, PA, USA.
Ammad Saddique
Internal Medicine, The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Educations, Scranton, PA, USA.
Adnan Liaqat
Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Mclaren Health/Michigan State University, Lansing, MI, USA.
Pius Ochieng
Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Geisinger Community Medical Center, Scranton, PA, USA.
Recent Global Research Developments in Parsonage–Turner Syndrome and COVID-19 Vaccination: A Review
Systematic Review in the British Journal of Surgery: This review analyzed 16 articles involving 35 patients who developed PTS after COVID-19 vaccination. The study found that 69% of patients reported symptoms on the same side as the vaccinated arm, with a median onset time of 7 days. Treatment varied, with 63% receiving steroid therapy [1].
Case Series from South Korea: A study reviewed 12 cases of PTS post-COVID-19 vaccination. The patients had received either adenoviral vector-based vaccines (AstraZeneca, Janssen) or mRNA-based vaccines (Pfizer, Moderna). The median time to symptom onset was 6.5 days. Most patients showed abnormalities in electrodiagnostic studies, and MRI revealed prominent ipsilateral axillary and/or cervical lymph nodes in several cases [2].
Case Report and Literature Review: This report detailed a case of PTS affecting the suprascapular nerve and infraspinatus muscles in a professional wrestler after COVID-19 vaccination. The study also reviewed existing literature on the causes and treatments of PTS [3].
Case Report in Europe PMC: This case report described a patient who developed PTS following COVID-19 vaccination. The report provided a brief review of the literature, highlighting the clinical features and treatment outcomes of PTS in the context of COVID-19 vaccination [4].
References
- G Manoharan, V Gandhbir, J Jose, M Van Liefland, 703 Parsonage Turner Syndrome After COVID-19 Vaccination – a Systematic Review, British Journal of Surgery, Volume 110, Issue Supplement_7, September 2023, znad258.219, https://doi.org/10.1093/bjs/znad258.219
- Min, Y. G., Kim, J. E., Hwang, J. Y., Shin, J. Y., Sung, J. J., & Hong, Y. H. (2022). Parsonage-Turner syndrome following COVID-19 vaccination. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry, 93(11), 1231-1232.
- Ganjeh, S., Aslani, H., Kalantari, K.K. et al. Parsonage-Turner syndrome, affecting suprascapular nerve and especially to infraspinatus muscles after COVID-19 vaccination in a professional wrestler, a case report and literature review of causes and treatments. BMC Neurol 24, 187 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12883-024-03694-0
- Amjad MA, Hamid Z, Patel Y, et al. COVID-19 Vaccine-Induced Parsonage-Turner Syndrome: A Case Report and Literature Review. Cureus. 2022 May;14(5):e25493. DOI: 10.7759/cureus.25493. PMID: 35783889; PMCID: PMC9242527.