Complex Regional Pain Syndrome of the upper extremity: a narrative review

Complex Regional Pain Syndrome is a condition which diagnosing and treatment is not univocally attributed to the particular medical specialty. This article presents a set of updated information about this condition, i.e. the specific subtypes of CRPS which differ each other with respect to symptomatology, susceptibility to treatment and prognosis. A new sub-type called “chronic, refractory complex regional pain syndrome” which is extremely severe, disabling and resistant to standard treatments is proposed. It also emphasizes difficulties with diagnosing the condition, because of its variable clinical presentation and vague and imprecise diagnostic criteria. A review of treatments is presented, with opinion on their effectiveness: good in an early stage, less well in chronic stage and generally poor and palliative in the chronic, refractory form.