NURS 6521 Case Study - Complex Regional Pain Syndrome

Complex Regional Pain Syndrome Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) is a debilitating disorder that typically affects the limbs after a trauma or nerve injury. As the name of the condition suggests, the physiologic alterations brought on by the triggering lesion are complicated. The CRPS-related pain and disability frequently result in psychological co-morbidities that feed a vicious cycle of agony, loneliness, and depression. We examine current advances in the knowledge of CRPS and the treatment of this illness. It is hoped that additional studies aimed at processes implicated in the pathophysiology of CRPS may result in its prevention (Shim et al., 2019). Case study summary The client is a 43-year-old Caucasian man who presented with the chief complaint of hip pain. According to the client, the pain began seven years ago after a fall at work, and it was later discovered that the cartilage surrounding the right hip joint was 75% torn. He’s had multiple diagnostic scans, including MRIs, CT scans, and x-rays. Although the client is alert and oriented to person, place, and time, denies suicidal thoughts or ideations, and no mental state abnormalities are noted, his physician believes he’s seeking narcotics for a pain that’s “all in his head.” The client reports a euthymic mood for mental status. “Complex Regional Pain Disorder is the official diagnosis (reflex sympathetic dystrophy).