What is the medical treatment for complex regional pain syndrome type 1 (CRPS 1) (RSD)?

Answer

The natural history of type 1 CRPS is variable and unpredictable, the pathogenesis is unknown, and few controlled treatment trials exist. Thus, published recommendations rely heavily on expert opinion, and the approach depends largely on the specialty of the treating physician. Even if a disturbance in sympathetic nervous system function is important in the development of the clinical syndrome, not all patients respond to sympatholytic medications or to chemical or surgical sympathectomy.

Clinical experience teaches that early recognition and treatment are necessary to avoid permanent disability and that the effectiveness of treatment is limited once the patient has reached the chronic fibrotic stage. Certainly, the incidence and severity of CRPS can be greatly reduced by initiating prophylactic measures in situations that are known to be triggers (eg, hemiplegic stroke, Colles fracture). These measures include immediate and aggressive mobilization of the involved extremity with passive and then active range-of-motion exercises. Similarly, in patients with established CRPS, physical and occupational therapy are key components of any therapeutic regimen.

Two major approaches to the medical treatment of early CRPS 1 exist: sympathetic blockade and anti-inflammatory therapy. Although these are not mutually exclusive, the order of usage is generally specialty-dependent, with anesthesiologists/surgeons starting with the former and internists/rheumatologists starting with the latter.

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T P Sudha Rao, MD Associate Professor of Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine; Chief, Rheumatology Fellowship Coordinator, Department of Rheumatology, McGuire VA Medical Center

T P Sudha Rao, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Rheumatology

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Francisco Talavera, PharmD, PhD Adjunct Assistant Professor, University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Pharmacy; Editor-in-Chief, Medscape Drug Reference

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Lawrence H Brent, MD Associate Professor of Medicine, Sidney Kimmel Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University; Chair, Program Director, Department of Medicine, Division of Rheumatology, Albert Einstein Medical Center

Lawrence H Brent, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Association of Immunologists, American College of Physicians, American College of Rheumatology

Disclosure: Stock ownership for: Johnson & Johnson.

Chief Editor

Herbert S Diamond, MD Visiting Professor of Medicine, Division of Rheumatology, State University of New York Downstate Medical Center; Chairman Emeritus, Department of Internal Medicine, Western Pennsylvania Hospital

Herbert S Diamond, MD is a member of the following medical societies: Alpha Omega Alpha, American College of Physicians, American College of Rheumatology, American Medical Association, Phi Beta Kappa

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Additional Contributors

Don R Revis, Jr, MD Consulting Staff, Department of Surgery, Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, University of Florida College of Medicine

Don R Revis, Jr, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Surgeons, American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, American Society of Plastic Surgeons, American Medical Association

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Robert E Wolf, MD, PhD Professor Emeritus, Department of Medicine, Louisiana State University School of Medicine in Shreveport; Chief, Rheumatology Section, Medical Service, Overton Brooks Veterans Affairs Medical Center

Robert E Wolf, MD, PhD is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Rheumatology, Arthritis Foundation, Society for Leukocyte Biology

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Elliot Goldberg, MD Dean of the Western Pennsylvania Clinical Campus, Professor, Department of Medicine, Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University

Elliot Goldberg, MD is a member of the following medical societies: Alpha Omega Alpha, American College of Physicians, American College of Rheumatology

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