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Complex Regional Pain Syndrome Diagnostic Tests
By Katie L. Aker One of the biggest problems in diagnosing complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) is the lack of a diagnostic test that would quantify the symptoms of the syndrome. The International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) criteria established in 1994 do not include any technical tests, simply because there is no test that has been proven to diagnose this syndrome (1).
There are, however, tools that help practitioners document their clinical findings of autonomic, sensory, and motor function and dysfunction, but they cannot be used to validate a diagnosis of CRPS, and often are not covered by insurance. We have described the various tests that might be suggested and their relation to CRPS.
Imaging Techniques
Radiographs
Bone Scans
Bone Density Tests
MRI, fMRI, PET, and SPECT
Skin Temperature Measurement
Infrared Thermometry,
Laser Doppler Flowmetry, and Infrared Thermography
Sudomotor Function Tests
Resting Sweat Output (RSO) and Thermoregulatory Sweat Test (TST)
Quantitative Sudomotor
Axon Reflex Test (QSART)
Neurophysiological Tests
Nerve Conduction Velocity (NCV)
Somatosensory Evoked Potentials (SSEP)
Quantitative Sensory Testing
(QST)
Sympathetic Nerve
Blocks
Conclusions
References
Updated December 20, 2007 |
