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Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy

How is it diagnosed?

The diagnosis of CRPS 1 remains based on observation of symptoms (clinical). There is often a precipitating trauma (not always). The pain is usually out of proportion to the inciting event. Autonomic changes are present; these include swelling, reduced skin perfusion and difficulty in distinguishing between hot and cold. There is also a marked reduction in range of movement and, in severe cases, ulceration. In adolescents the legs are more commonly affected. Occasionally more than one limb may be affected at presentation. It is not unusual for a hand or other leg to develop CRPS months after a leg has been affected. This may be due to the use of crutches and subsequent pain amplification but may also have no obvious trigger. Young people with CRPS may also develop low mood and overwhelming fatigue. This further complicates the clinical picture.

View What are the causes? What are the causes?  |  How is it treated? View How is it treated?

Medical text written July 2007 by Dr Jacqui Clinch, Consultant paediatric rheumatology and adolescent chronic pain, Bristol Children’s Hospital/ Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases, UK

 

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