Impairment level SumScore for lower extremity Complex Regional Pain Syndrome type I.
OBJECTIVE
To construct a single indicator on impairment level for lower extremity Complex Regional Pain syndrome type I (CRPS I).


METHODS
The Impairment level SumScore (ISS) for upper extremity CRPS I was adapted to be used for lower extremity evaluation. Medline literature search and research findings were used to adapt the upper extremity version of the ISS, with emphasis on reliability, responsiveness and validity of measurement instruments. Where needed, additional patient data was gathered to evaluate these aspects for different measurement instruments.


METHODS
An outpatient clinic of a university hospital in the Netherlands.


METHODS
Two groups consisting of 17 and 26 healthy volunteers, and two groups of respectively 40 and 18 lower extremity CRPS I patients according to Veldman's criteria.


METHODS
VAS and McGill pain scores, water displacement volumeter values, and physicians' and patients' assessment of CRPS I severity.


RESULTS
A combination of measurements, incorporating pain (VAS and McGill), temperature (infrared thermometer), volume (water displacement volumeter) and active range of motion (universal goniometer), was converted in a single score ranging from 5 to 50. The reliability, as well as the responsiveness was adequate.


CONCLUSIONS
The lower extremity ISS permits evaluation of the most prominent symptoms in CRPS I, and can be used to monitor changes in CRPS I.
Perez
Roberto S G M
RS
Department of Anesthesiology, VU university medical center Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Oerlemans
H Margreet
HM
Zuurmond
Wouter W A
WW
De Lange
Jaap J
JJ
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D035002:Lower Extremity; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010147:Pain Measurement; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular; D012019:Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy / Q000145:classification* / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012881:Skin Temperature