Reflex sympathetic dystrophy in cervical spinal cord injury patients

---

Gellman-H; Eckert-RR; Botte-MJ; Sakimura-I; Waters-RL University of Southern California Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Rancho Los Amigos Hospital, Downey 90242. Clin-Orthop. 1988 Aug(233): 126-31 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.