Criteria For Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Research Articles

Segmental reflex sympathetic dystrophy: Clinical and scintigraphic criteria

Clinical and scintigraphic criteria are proposed for the diagnosis of segmental reflex sympathetic dystrophy. Eight patients met previously described clinical criteria for reflex sympathetic dystrophy with involvement limited to only a portion of the hand. The delayed phase of the three-phase radionuclide bone scan was found to be highly sensitive (100%) for this small group of patients. Consecutive bone scans (n = 127) performed during a 6-month period for a variety of upper extremity problems were reviewed, and a segmentally diffuse pattern of tracer uptake was found to be highly specific (98%) for segmental reflex sympathetic dystrophy. Recognition and documentation of a more localized form of reflex sympathetic dystrophy will allow earlier recognition and treatment, which is an important factor in a successful outcome for managing pain dysfunction disorders.

Reflex sympathetic dystrophy in the foot: clinical and scintigraphic criteria.

To establish strict clinical criteria for reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD) of the foot and to characterize any associated scintigraphic pattern, the authors performed three-phase radionuclide bone scanning in 51 patients prospectively referred because RSD was a diagnostic consideration. To establish sensitivity and specificity data, the cases of an additional 100 consecutive patients referred for a variety of foot problems were retrospectively reviewed. The authors defined RSD of the foot as a pain syndrome characterized by diffuse nonanatomic, often unrelenting pain; autonomic-vasomotor signs including warm or cool skin temperatures and moist-sweaty or dry-scaly skin; and a positive response to a lumbar sympathetic block. Patients with RSD have a characteristic delayed bone-scan pattern consisting of diffuse increased tracer throughout the foot, with juxta-articular accentuation of tracer uptake. Overall, sensitivity in this study was 100%; specificity, 80%; positive predictive value, 54%; and negative predictive value, 100%. False-positive images were obtained in patients with infection, diabetes, and chronic pain. Specificity was 66% in the subgroup of patients who underwent sympathetic block, with a positive-predictive value of 88%. There were no differences in scan pattern related to duration of symptoms prior to imaging.