Clinical Science (36)

Abstract

A follow‐up study of 14 young adults with complex regional pain syndrome type I. (Hospital Morvan, Brest, France) J Neurosci Nurs. 2000;32:83–88.This study evaluated the symptom experience and functional status of 27 young adults with reflex sympathetic dystrophy syndrome, now known as complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) type I. All were originally diagnosed and studied 12 years ago. Only 15 subjects could be located; 14 participated in the research. A descriptive exploratory design was utilized. A tool was designed to gather data about daily living variables, psychological variables, and symptom variables. Although many questions required the use of Likert scales, there were some open‐ended questions to capture the qualitative descriptions of the participant's symptom experiences. Findings contribute to the clinical literature about CRPS and its effect on clients over time. Comment by Mauricio Orbegozo, MD.This paper is a follow‐up interview on 14 patients diagnosed with complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) type I more than a decade ago. The author created a tool with the purpose of gathering data in 3 different aspects such as: current activity levels, psychosocial assessment, and symptom experiences. This data were gathered in a questionnaire form. The first 2 sections (current acting levels and psychosocial assessment) are questions to be answered on a 4‐point Likert scale and the last part (symptom experiences) is an open‐ended question section where the subject can answer in a more descriptive manner. What is particular about the population of patients in this study is the fact that all were diagnosed at an early age (childhood or as young adults). This yielded an interesting set of results. As far as current activity levels, more that two‐thirds of the patients were able to perform basic daily living activities and at least 50% of them can perform more strenuous activities such as running, climbing stairs, and driving a car. The results above extrapolate well into the psychosocial assessment where greater than 90% considered themselves self‐sufficient. Of interest was the fact that there was no depression or overwhelming psychiatric morbidity reported. This could be because at a younger age of onset for CRPS type I, more effective coping skills can be developed that would aid these patients in adaptation to daily life. It is not surprising that in symptom experience the most common was continuing pain, followed by limitations in range of motion. In summation, this study sheds light into an aspect that has not been researched in an extensive manner, which is a long‐term follow‐up of patients suffering from CRPS type I and how they adapted to daily life. Although conclusions reflect valid facts, the sample size is small and larger population including patients who develop CRPS type I at later stages in life may provide us with crucial information in a general set of patients.