Abstract: Objective To observe the effect of brachial plexus block with ropivacaine and dexamethasone injecting on shoulder-hand syndrome (SHS) in stroke patients.Methods Thirty stroke patients complicated with SHS were randomly divided into the control group and trial group with 15 cases in each group. All patients of two groups received rehabilitation treatment, including the corrective positioning of limbs and trunk, physical exercise training, massage therapy, as well as psychological intervention. The trial group was added treatment of brachial plexus block with ropivacaine and dexamethasone injecting. The therapeutic effect was assessed with Visual Analogous Score (VAS) and Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA).Results The efficacy of the trial group was significantly superior to that of the control group. After treatment, the VAS score of the trial group on shoulder pain decreased obviously and was significantly lower than that of the control group (P＜0.01). The FMA score of the trial group was higher than that of the control group (P＜0.05). The range of motion of joint of the trial group was superior to that of the control group (P＜0.05).Conclusion Brachial plexus block with ropivacaine and dexamethasone injecting has significant effectiveness on stroke patients complicated with SHS, and is helpful to recover the function of shoulder joint.

Key words: brachial plexus, block, shoulder-hand syndrome, analgesic