Evaluation of quality of life in brachial plexus injury patients after reconstructive surgery.

To evaluate the subjective satisfaction of brachial plexus injury (BPI) patients after surgery based on the medical outcomes study 36-item short form health survey (SF-36) and to correlate their SF-36 scores with upper extremity functions. Four items were assessed statistically for 30 patients: SF-36 scores after BPI surgery were compared with Japanese standard scores; the correlation between SF-36 scores and objective joint functions; difference in SF-36 scores between each type of BPI; and influence of each joint function on the SF-36 scores. The SF-36 subscale: PF--physical functioning, RP--role-physical, BP--bodily pain, and the summary score PCS--physical component summary, were significantly inferior to the Japanese standard scores. SF-36 is more sensitive to shoulder joint function than to elbow and finger joint functions. Little correlation was found between SF-36 scores and objective evaluations of joint functions. Greater effort is needed to improve the quality of life (QOL) of BPI patients. This study showed that SF-36 is not sensitive enough to evaluate regional conditions. A region- or site-specific questionnaire is required to evaluate upper extremity surgery.