Publications
APS Bulletin • Volume 16, Number 2, 2006
Resource Reviews
John D. Loeser, MD, Department Editor
CRPS: Current Diagnosis and Therapy Progress in Pain Research and Management, Volume 32
Reviewed by Donna Kalauokalani, MD MPH
Peter R. Wilson, Michael Stanton-Hicks, and R. Norman Harden (Eds.), Seattle, IASP Press, 2005. Hard cover, 316 pages, ISBN 0-931092-55-8. Nonmembers $82, IASP members $67.
Chronic regional pain syndrome (CRPS) has been a vexing medical topic for over a century; only within the last decade has a concerted effort been made to refine taxonomy and diagnosis to facilitate studies and compare reports about this clinical entity. The absence of an agreed-on taxonomy has resulted in a paucity of valid, reliable, and relevant studies addressing the diagnosis and treatment of CRPS. This book provides a comprehensive and organized synthesis of the work done to date, allowing the reader to begin to put the many puzzle pieces together. It also provides a framework for future investigations.
This text is organized in three major parts: (1) Overview of taxonomy of syndromes and diseases; (2) taxonomy of diagnosis: clinic experience; and (3) management of CRPS.
The first section offers a historical perspective on CRPS and elucidates the challenges we now face in making progress to understand and treat this syndrome. The second section on clinical experience describes the statistical derivation of the four criteria, as well as the pathophysiology and measurement of each factor. The final chapter in this section discusses the laboratory tests used in CRPS. The third section on management discusses the range of approaches typically considered in multidisciplinary pain care, including physical, occupational, pharmacological, psychological, interventional (including implants), and other miscellaneous therapies. A chapter devoted to managing pediatric patients with CRPS is also included. An epilogue offers future perspectives and directions for research.
A tribute to fine editorial skills, this book is logically arranged and can be read from cover to cover; it is not simply a reference packed with stand-alone chapters that loosely relate to one another. The index is well organized, making this book a handy reference in your library. The book will appeal broadly to students, clinicians, researchers, and others involved with health care who have confronted CRPS and wish for an up-to-date resource on how to approach the diagnosis and treatment of this complex syndrome.
Dr. Kalauokalani is Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine and Director of Health Outcomes Research at the University of California–Davis.
Dr. Loeser is Professor of Neurological Surgery and Anesthesiology at the University of Washington in Seattle.