REFLEX SYMPATHETIC DYSTROPHY AFTER A BURN INJURY

Reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD) is a disease that can appear after minor trauma or operation to an extremity. The injury may vary from a simple contusion to a fracture. The prevalence of burns as a cause of RSD, within a population of 829 patients with RSD, was studied retrosp ectively. Prospectively, we documented the medical history, signs and symptoms of all patients with RSD, seen by our department during the p eriod from January 1984 to 31 December 1994. Four patients had develop ed RSD after a burn injury, resulting in a prevalence of 0.5 per cent. Though the clinical signs of early RSD are similar to those of a (the rmal) burn, alertness to recognize inflammatory signs, in combination with the increase in complaints after exercise, is necessary for early diagnosis and treatment of the complicating RSD. (C) 1996 Elsevier Sc ience Ltd for ISBI.