Abstract

Background: Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) is a disabling condition seen in chronic pain clinics. Despite many studies addressing the management of CRPS, there is a lack of high-quality studies on the efficacy of therapies, and particularly on effectiveness of interdisciplinary programs, for CRPS in both controlled and real-world clinical settings.

Aims: To retrospectively assess the effectiveness of an interdisciplinary treatment program on pain and functional domains in patients with CRPS.

Methods: Patients with CRPS participating in this interdisciplinary clinic who completed self-reported survey data at baseline and follow-up for routine clinical purposes were identified through convenience sampling. This data was retrospectively extracted from the electronic medical record (EMR) for descriptive analysis as well as a pre-post analysis for pain and functional outcomes.

Results: 33 patients with CRPS were included in this study. Median (IQR) duration of CRPS was 1.3 (2.9) years. 20 patients had follow-up data a median (IQR) of 298 (361.5) days from baseline. A significant reduction in pain severity (Mean (SD) = 7.39(1.42)) to (Mean (SD) = 6.22(2.37)), p = 0.0045, but no significant reduction in pain disability index score (Mean (SD) = 51.90(10.55)) to Mean (SD) = 46.263(14.36)), p = 0.058 was found. Duration of CRPS had no significant association with magnitude of improvement.

Conclusion: Results are interpreted in context of retrospective pre-post design on EMR data but encourage improvements in data processes for future evaluation. More real-world evaluation of interdisciplinary programs for patients with CRPS is needed to ensure evidence-based therapies are effective in uncontrolled clinical environments.