Left brachial plexopathy after prone positioning with COVID-19: a case series

Prone positioning is a strategy shown to reduce mortality in patients who are mechanically ventilated for acute respiratory distress syndrome and has been used in the COVID-19 pandemic. It is not, however, without complications. Barotrauma, pressure sores, ventilator associated pneumonia and peripheral nerve injuries have all been implicated as complications of prone positioning. There have also been several reports of brachial plexopathy in patients who have undergone prolonged mechanical ventilation with prone positioning. Patient characteristics including body weight index, degree of critical illness, and suboptimal prolonged positioning have all been suggested as possible contributing factors, although, there has been less discussion concerning the action of rolling patients, and how it may contribute to the development of injuries. We describe 3 cases of left brachial plexus injury in patients who were consistently rolled on their left sides. Patients presented with isolated left upper extremity weakness without any structural etiology found on imaging. Electrodiagnostic studies subsequently confirmed a left brachial plexopathy in each of the cases. We suggest that the action of proning patients may contribute to injury. This observation has not yet been suggested in the literature, and carries clinical relevance, as greater attention and meticulous care may need to be employed when moving these individuals.