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Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, Current Concepts and Treatment Options

  • Other Pain (A Kaye and N Vadivelu, Section Editors)
  • Published:
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Abstract

Purpose of Review

Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) refers to a chronic pain condition that is characterized by progressively worsening spontaneous regional pain without dermatomal distribution. The symptomatology includes pain out of proportion in time and severity to the inciting event. The purpose of this review is to present the most current information concerning epidemiology, diagnosis, pathophysiology, and therapy for CRPS.

Recent Findings

In recent years, discovery of pathophysiologic mechanisms of CRPS has led to significant strides in the understanding of the disease process.

Summary

Continued elucidation of the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms will allow for the development of more targeted and effective evidence-based therapy protocols. Further large clinical trials are needed to investigate mechanisms and treatment of the disorder.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anesthesiology, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA

    Ivan Urits, Mark R. Jones & Omar Viswanath

  2. Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Abra H. Shen

  3. Department of Anesthesiology, Lousiana State University Health Science Center, 1542 Tulane Avenue Suite 659, New Orleans, LA, 70112, USA

    Alan D. Kaye

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  1. Ivan Urits
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  2. Abra H. Shen
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  3. Mark R. Jones
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  4. Omar Viswanath
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  5. Alan D. Kaye
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Correspondence to Alan D. Kaye.

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Conflict of Interest

Ivan Urits, Abra H. Shen, Mark R. Jones, and Omar Viswanath declare no conflict of interest. Dr. Kaye is a speaker for Depomed, Inc. and Merck, Inc.

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This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Other Pain

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Urits, I., Shen, A.H., Jones, M.R. et al. Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, Current Concepts and Treatment Options. Curr Pain Headache Rep 22, 10 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11916-018-0667-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11916-018-0667-7

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