Systematic Review Protocol Title: The clinical effectiveness of conservative management of children (under the age of two years) diagnosed with obstetric brachial plexus palsy Centre: Centre for Allied Health Evidence

Expert review panel The Obstetric Brachial Plexus Palsy team at the Royal Children's Hospital is committed to increasing the quality of care provided to these children and is striving to produce OBPP research of international standing. As such, the OBPP team supports this application, which is evidenced by all OBPP team members being on the expert review panel. Hospital and has established an Obstetric Brachial Plexus team, consisting of allied health and surgical clinicians. 2 Commencement date 04/08/03 Expected completion date 04/08/04 Background This research addresses a distinct lack of synthesis of evidence regarding the effectiveness of conservative management for children, under the age of two years, diagnosed with obstetric brachial plexus palsy (OBPP). OBPP, a devastating complication of childbirth , occurs in 1-2 per 1000 live births internationally, which is comparable to the prevalence of other frequently occurring paediatric disorders, such as cerebral palsy and Down's syndrome (Dunham 2003, McNeeley and Drake 2002). The prevalence of OBPP in Australia is similar to international rates (Bates et al in press). Despite the substantial prevalence rate of this condition, the Royal Children's Hospital (situated in Parkville, Victoria) has the only Brachial Plexus Clinic and registry in Australia. At present over 200 children are on the Royal Children's Hospital OBPP registry, with approximately 20 children being diagnosed annually.