Pourfour Du Petit syndrome - hypersympathetic dysfunctional state following a direct non-penetrating injury to the cervical sympathetic chain and brachial plexus

Abstract

Blunt trauma to the brachial plexus can produce reflex sympathetic dystrophy with increased sympathetic activity in the affected extremity. There are no reports, however, documenting sympathetic hyperactivity unaccompanied by pain in an anatomic region of the body not supplied by the injured plexus. In this case, a hypersympathetic dysfunctional state developed following a direct nonpenetrating injury to the cervical sympathetic chain and brachial plexus. What was unusual is that sympathetic activity to the eye and face was also affected on the ipsilateral side. Pourfour Du Petit, a French physician during the Napoleanic wars, was the first person to describe the functions of the cervical sympathetic chain. His treatment of many neck injuries secondary to slash wounds from swords provided a unique opportunity to study direct injuries to the cervical sympathetic chain. He was also the first physician to note the signs of increased sympathetic activity in the eyes and upper extremity and relate these to the injuries of the cervical sympathetic chain, and hence the name Pourfour Du Petit syndrome is given to this patient's condition.