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Journal of Hand Surgery (British and European Volume)
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The Towel Test: A Useful Technique for the Clinical and Electromyographic Evaluation of Obstetric Brachial Plexus Palsy

J. A. BERTELLI
M. F. GHIZONI

From the Department of Plastic Surgery and Department of Neurosurgery, Joana de Gusmão Children’s Hospital, Florianópolis, SC, Brazil and Universidade do Sul de Santa Catarina-Unisul, Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde-CCBS, Tubarão, SC, Brazil

Correspondence: Jayme A. Bertelli, Praça Getulio Vargas, 322, Florianópolis, SC 88020030, Brazil. Tel./Fax: +55-48-2224028; E-mail: bertelli{at}matrix.com.br

The towel test consists of covering an infant’s face with a towel and seeing if he/she can remove it with either arm. In this study it has been used to aid the clinical and electromyographic assessment of 21 infants with obstetric brachial plexus palsy. At 2 to 3 months, none of the 21 infants succeeded in removing the towel, either with their normal or affected arm. At 6 months, all the infants succeeded in removing the towel with their normal arm, but 11 could not with their affected arm, and the same was observed at a further assessment at 9 months. The towel test is a reliable technique for evaluating children with obstetric brachial plexus injuries.

Key Words: brachial plexus injury • brachial plexus palsy • obstetric brachial plexus palsy

Journal of Hand Surgery (British and European Volume), Vol. 29, No. 2, 155-158 (2004)
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhsb.2003.10.018
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