• Stephan Ott and Christian Maihöfner.
• Department of Neurology, General Hospital Fürth, Fürth, Germany; Faculty of Medicine, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), Erlangen, Germany; Department of Neurology, University Hospital Erlangen, Erlangen, Germany.
• J Pain. 2018 Jun 1; 19 (6): 599-611.

AbstractComplex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) is a complex pain disorder that can emerge after limb trauma or a lesion in the peripheral nervous system. Typical features include continuing pain, sensory, vasomotor, sudomotor, motor, and trophic changes as well as edema. These signs provide the basis of CRPS diagnosis. A detailed description of the signs, symptoms, and medical history of CRPS could potentially facilitate an earlier and more accurate diagnosis. The aim of this study was to provide such a description, on the basis of epidemiological measures, clinical presentation, and a thorough description of pain sensations. Some signs (eg, differences of skin temperature >1°C), which have been thought to be crucial for diagnosis, were less common than assumed. We identified 11 distinct etiological triggers, which cover more than 99% of the study participants. We developed a weighted score on the basis of the most decisive data, which achieved a sensitivity of .869 and a specificity of .829, compared with .819 and .679 for the Budapest criteria. The weighted diagnostic criteria may help to better aid in distinguishing CRPS from other pain disorders.Copyright © 2018 The American Pain Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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