Comprehensive Diagnostic Criteria for Complex Regional Pain Syndrome in the Japanese Population

Abstract

  Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) is a syndrome that describes a broad spectrum of sensory, motor and autonomic-like features with unproven etiology. The International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) diagnostic criteria of CRPS show high sensitivity but poor specificity. Here, using statistical pattern recognition methods, we suggest a new set of CRPS criteria offering acceptable sensitivity and high specificity for the Japanese population : A standardized sign/symptom checklist was used in patient evaluations to obtain data on CRPS-related signs/symptoms in 195 patients meeting the IASP criteria. We grouped CRPS-related signs/symptoms into five distinct subgroups (trophic change, motor dysfunction, abnormal pain processing, asymmetric sudomotor activity and asymmetric edema). Given patients' ability to discriminate between CRPS and non-CRPS etiology, modifying the IASP criteria could increase clinical diagnostic accuracy in the Japanese population.