Four Treatment Strategies for Complex Regional Pain Syndrome Type 1

Abstract

Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) poses a dilemma for many clinicians due to its unknown etiology and largely unsuccessful treatment modalities. The purpose of this study was to compare the clinical results of 4 treatment modalities for CRPS type 1. A total of 59 patients were divided into 4 groups based on treatment modality: group A, an oral nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) (n=10); group B, oral gabapentin (n=12); group C, intravenous (IV) 10% mannitol and steroid (n=11); group D, a combination of IV 20% mannitol and steroid with oral gabapentin (n=26). The patients remained under medical supervision after discharge and were evaluated either once a month or once every 2 months until final follow-up at a mean of 8 months. Patients in group A showed improvement in pain level, finger range of motion, swelling, and grip strength, without statistical significance (P=.076, P=.062, P=.312, and P=.804, respectively). Patients in group B showed significant improvement in pain level (P<.001), and patients in group C showed improvement in pain, finger range of motion, and swelling (P=.127), which rendered functional impairment unchanged. In comparison, patients in group D showed recovery of grip strength and improvement in pain level, finger range of motion, and (P<.001, P=.016, P=.031, and P=.047, respectively). Based on these results, a protocol including a combination of IV 20% mannitol and steroid with oral gabapentin is an acceptable and effective treatment for CRPS type 1.