Dr. Shenkar reported data on 47 patients aged a mean of 53 years who needed a plaster cast for an upper (wrist) or lower (ankle/tibia) limb fracture who were assessed fewer than 2 weeks after their injury and followed up for 6 months. Their medical records were reviewed 3 years later to see whether chronic pain was present.
One patient developed CRPS. This patient had both a positive finger perception and body scheme test at the baseline assessment. Three patients had persistent pain, and two of those had positive finger perception and body scheme tests. The remaining 43 patients did not have persistent pain, and four of these patients had positive finger perception and body scheme tests. This means that 7 out of the 47 patients would be flagged very early on for further assessment and possible treatment, Dr. Shenker observed.
Future plans are to refine a quicker test for body scheme assessment and to perform a larger prospective multicenter study.
Dr. Shenker has received grant or research support from the British Medical Association, the U.K. National Institute for Health Research’s Clinical Research Network, and the Cambridge Arthritis Research Endeavour.