Reflex sympathetic dystrophy in cervical spinal cord injury patients.
Sixty consecutive patients admitted to the spinal cord injury unit at a Downey, California medical center were evaluated for hand and upper extremity pain. Patients averaged nine months postinjury and had an average age of 37 years. Seven patients (11.7%) complained of diffuse hand pain, swelling, and stiffness. All patients with complaints were evaluated with three-phase radionuclide scintigraphy. Six of those seven patients had scintigrams consistent with reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD), an overall incidence of 10%. Three of these six patients were treated with stellate ganglion blocks, which gave relief of symptoms and allowed return to their rehabilitation program. An awareness of RSD as a cause of pain in spinal cord injured patients should lead to earlier recognition and treatment.
Gellman
H
H
University of Southern California Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Rancho Los Amigos Hospital, Downey 90242.
Eckert
R R
RR
Botte
M J
MJ
Sakimura
I
I
Waters
R L
RL
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006225:Hand / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009333:Neck; D010146:Pain / Q000209:etiology; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging; D012019:Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000150:complications*