Edited by Jijun Xu and Lynn R. Webster, COMPLEX REGIONAL PAIN SYNDROME bills itself as “an ideal pocket guide for those seeking a concise yet comprehensive resource to help them navigate the essentials and advancements necessary for CRPS management.” Part of a series on pain medicine, this slim volume offers a wealth of information on the condition for clinicians and healthcare professionals, presented by Oxford University Press in as sleek and attractive a fashion as ever.
The clinical picture in relation to CRPS is a complicated one. Most commonly found in women in their 60s, its causes are unknown, though it can develop suddenly after injury. As so many similar conditions can mimic its symptoms, it is often detected via differential diagnosis (indeed, a “diagnosis of exclusion”) and symptoms that are identified using the Budapest criteria—which typically include pain in the extremities during palpation. The book examines management options via a series of 11 case studies, many of which benefit from having been written by specialists from some of the United States’ foremost pain management departments (including Stanford and the Cleveland Clinic). Each chapter covers the progression of typical cases and ends with summary boxes containing key takeaways, as well as copious references. Sections on pathophysiology, treatment options, and new approaches to pain management are all welcome.
Being a guidebook, the vast majority of the material here derives from published studies, giving the whole something of the feel of a literature review. But the book is also grounded in current topics and trends, informing readers, for example, of the possibility of encountering non-vaccinated patients who may (without foundation) associate the onset of CRPS with the administering of vaccines. There is presently no evidence suggesting a link between the two (the contributors are quick to note that no evidence can yet be brought to bear on any postulated links between CRPS and long Covid), but the alertness to the possibility of anti-vaxx stances and the resultant complications is appreciated. All in all, it is hard to see how a more concise, practical guide about CRPS could be provided, so frontline healthcare workers and practitioners would certainly benefit from reading this.
COMPLEX REGIONAL PAIN SYNDROME is an excellent short guide to the titular condition. Editors Jijun Xu and Lynn R. Webster have assembled a highly interesting and useful collection of case studies that will be of interest to any clinician seeking to know more.
~Craig Jones for IndieReader