Abstract

An increasing incidence of Erb’s palsy in the last few years has been noted in our region. To find out the quality of health care in the centers (hospitals) where deliveries took place and to know how early these cases were referred out, a retrospective study of 116 cases of Erb’s palsy seen at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH) was analyzed by descriptive and inferential statistics. All the patients referred to our physiotherapy unit with a clinical diagnosis of Erb’s palsy between the years 2003 and 2008 were studied. The percentage frequency distribution of incidence of Erb’s palsy in private hospitals 61 (52.5%) is statistically significant to the incidence in public hospitals 17 (14.6%). The source of referral of about 32.7% cases was unknown. The private hospitals engaged the services of poorly trained birth attendants unlike the public hospitals that have better trained health attendants. The total percentage of late referrals (71%) was higher than early referrals (29%). This was statistically significant. The mean birth weight was high (3.9 kg). The right upper limb was most affected (62.7%) compared to the left upper limb affected (36.4%). Erb’s palsy seems a growing birth related problem particularly in developing countries. There is the need to employ the services of qualified birth attendants coupled with early referrals and implementation of measures to check excess fetal weight gain in a bid to reducing the incidence of Erb’s palsy in the Niger Delta of Nigeria. 
 

Key words: Erb’s palsy, public and private hospitals, incidence, early referral, trained birth attendants.