Table 3.
Demographics of patients treated with a scapular brace
| Variable | All patients n = 55 | Less than 6 months* n = 31 | Six months or greater* n = 24 | p value | 95% CI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean (SD) | Mean (SD) | Mean (SD) | |||
| Followup (years) | 22.4 (4) | 22.6 (4) | 21.7 (4) | 0.398 | −1 to 3 |
| Time between onset of symptoms and brace application (months) | 5.7 (4) | 3.1 (1) | 9.1 (3) | < 0.001 | −7 to −5 |
| Duration of brace use (months) | 10.2 (6) | 10.1 (6) | 10.4 (5) | 0.836 | −3 to 3 |
| Brace use (hours/day) | 11.9 (4) | 11.9 (4) | 12.0 (4) | 0.898 | −2 to 2 |
| Followup flexion (°) | 153 (22) | 156 (17) | 149 (28) | 0.253 | −5 to 19 |
| Followup flexion of unaffected shoulder (°) | 159 (10) | 159 (10) | 159 (11) | 0.945 | −5 to 6 |
| Followup abduction (°) | 168 (27) | 169 (28) | 167 (27) | 0.708 | −13 to 17 |
| Followup abduction of unaffected shoulder (°) | 179 (12) | 180 (12) | 179 (12) | 0.659 | −5 to 8 |
| Strength in flexion of affected shoulder (N) | 81 (29) | 80 (31) | 81 (26) | 0.895 | −17 to 15 |
| Strength in flexion of unaffected shoulder (N) | 90 (26) | 89 (26) | 90 (26) | 0.990 | −14 to 14 |
| No pain related to serratus palsy at followup (number, %) | 17 (30) | 13 (43) | 3 (13) | 0.072 | |
| Paresis at followup (number, %) | 0.716 | ||||
| None | 35 (64) | 20 (64) | 15 (62) | ||
| Partial | 13 (23) | 8 (26) | 5 (21) | ||
| Complete | 7 (13) | 3 (10) | 4 (17) | ||
| Recovery complete (number, %) | |||||
| Subjective | 28 (51) | 18 (58) | 9 (38) | 0.130 | |
| Objective | 35 (64) | 20 (64) | 15 (62) | 0.716 | |
* Months from onset of symptoms to application of brace.