A 15-year-old girl developed severe pain in her right upper limb within a few days after she experienced an astatic epileptic seizure accompanied by falling on her right side. She was treated with fluid infusion through a cannula into her right hand. Swelling, mild flaring, and muscle weakness of the right arm subsequently appeared. Pharmacotherapy and stellate ganglion block were ineffective, and continuous epidural anesthesia was commenced 14 days after the falling event. The pain and accompanying symptoms completely disappeared within 5 days. Early treatment with continuous epidural anesthesia may be a promising option for the management of complex regional pain syndrome during childhood.
Keywords: Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS); Continuous epidural anesthesia; Nerve block; Reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD).
Copyright © 2014 The Japanese Society of Child Neurology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.