Effectiveness and safety of home-based muscle electrical stimulator in brachial plexus injury patients

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of home-based muscle electrical stimulation system in brachial plexus injury patients. Material and Method: Forty brachial plexus injury patients underwent muscle electrical stimulation using a custom designed electrical stimulator. Effectiveness of the system, visual analog pain score, skin temperature, superficial skin condition, overall patient satisfaction, and location of treatment preference were evaluated after the intervention. A follow-up telephone call was used to evaluate late-onset complications. Results: Thirty-three men and seven women with an average age of 32 years were enrolled in the present study. According to our predefined definitions, 39 of 40 stimulation sessions were successfully completed, which resulted in a total system effectiveness of 97.5%. All patients tolerated the stimulation well. The average visual analog pain score was significantly decreased from 4 to 3 after the stimulation. There were no adverse incidents reported. The average patient satisfaction score was 7.8 out of 10. Thirty-five of 40 patients (88%) preferred to use home-based electrical stimulation vs. hospital-based treatment. Conclusion: The custom designed muscle electrical stimulator used in this study has demonstrated adequate effectiveness and safety for clinical home use for brachial plexus injury patients.