Classification of complex regional pain syndromes - New concepts

This article summarizes the revised taxonomic system for pain disorders previously termed reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD) and causalgia. Since the consensus committee meeting in 1993, the disorders have been grouped under the umbrella term complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS). Two types of CRPS have been recognized: type I, corresponding to RSD and occurring without a discrete nerve lesion; and type II, corresponding to causalgia and occurring in the presence of a discrete nerve lesion. Sympathetically maintained pain (SMP) has been evaluated and considered to be a variable and independent phenomenon associated with a variety of disorders, including CRPS types I and II.