Prognostic Factors in Complex Regional Pain Syndrome Type 1 Occurring in the Korean Army

Abstract

Objectives In Korea, patients diagnosed with complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) in the army are typically discharged from the army; however, the course of the disease after discharge is not known. The purpose of this study was to investigate the course of CRPS that occurred in the army and to identify the influences of various clinical and psychosocial factors immediately before discharge on the disease course. Methods Clinical profiles and psychosocial status were collected from the medical records of 16 patients with CRPS type 1 who were discharged during the period between March 2017 and April 2018. The degree of improvement after discharge was assessed by follow-up evaluation through telephone contact. Cox proportional hazards regression was performed to identify clinical and psychosocial predictors for the rate of recovery. Results The median time to recovery after discharge was 39 weeks (95% confidence interval [CI] = 8.8–69.2 weeks). The sole predictor for time to recovery after discharge was the time period from the onset of pain to discharge. Each one-week increase in the duration of pain experienced in the military was associated with a 18.2% (95% CI = 5.3%–29.5%) reduction in the rate of recovery after discharge (P = 0.007). Conclusions Patients who experienced a short period of pain in the military demonstrated a relatively good prognosis after discharge. This may show how prolonged pain in the army could affect the experience of pain from a social point of view, in that it shows the disease course after a change in the social environment.

Multicenter survey of symptoms, work life, economic status, and quality of life of complex regional pain syndrome patients

“…Among the factors that show a connection with each domain, suicidal ideation has shown a high degree of association in all domains (BREF-Q1, BREF-Q2, physical, psychological, social, and environmental). CRPS patients were shown to have a high level of pain at an average score of 7.15 ± 1.78 (out of a total of 10 points) and showed higher pain levels compared to those in another study (3.55 ± 1.44, 5.9 ± 2.7) [14,15]. As only 14.3% patients had an improvement in pain of more than 50%, it turned out that there was not enough treatment.…”

“…CRPS patients were shown to have a high level of pain at an average score of 7.15 ± 1.78 (out of a total of 10 points) and showed higher pain levels compared to those in another study (3.55 ± 1.44, 5.9 ± 2.7) [ 14 , 15 ]. As only 14.3% patients had an improvement in pain of more than 50%, it turned out that there was not enough treatment.…”

“…Although the number of domains affected was small, pain score, age, and sex were found to be related. Correlation with QOL has not been found to be related to specific factors (social support, lesser soft tissue injury, pain site, delayed therapy, or diagnosis), which were associated with the already known prognosis [ 14 , 19 , 22 , 40 - 42 ].…”

“…Previous studies have already revealed the epidemiology and status of patients with CPRS [ 6 , 11 , 14 , 19 , 43 ]. However, the study on the QOL and epidemiology in patients with CRPS in South Korea was insufficient, which is why we conducted this survey.…”