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Introduction Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) is a disease that causes intense pain mainly in the upper and lower limbs of the patients, impairing the quality of life of those affected by the syndrome. Its pathophysiology has not yet been fully discovered and described. Also, treatments need to advance in the search for pain relief in those affected by the disease. The present article aims to describe the pathophysiology of CRPS and, mainly, to quantitatively analyze the efficiency of new treatments against pain caused by the disease. Methods Several articles on clinical trials described in a table were included in the present study, and a systematic review of the effectiveness of current treatments was performed. Results A total of 29 articles from clinical trials were selected using the preselection criteria. Surgical treatments against CRPS had a 56.9% efficiency in reducing painful sensation, and conservative treatments against CRPS had a 40.82% efficiency in reducing pain sensation. Conclusion Complex regional pain syndrome is a disease that causes pain in patients and worsens the quality of life of those affected by it. The treatments are diverse, and their efficiencies vary from bad to excellent.

Introdução A síndrome dolorosa regional complexa (SDRC) é uma doença que causa dor intensa principalmente nos membros superiores e inferiores dos pacientes, prejudicando a qualidade de vida dos afetados pela síndrome. Sua fisiopatologia ainda não foi completamente descoberta e descrita. Ademais, tratamentos precisam avançar na busca do alívio da dor naqueles afetados pela doença. O objetivo do presente artigo é descrever a fisiopatologia da SDRC e, principalmente, analisar quantitativamente a eficiência dos novos tratamentos contra a dor causada pela doença. Métodos Foram incluídos no presente estudo diversos artigos sobre ensaios clínicos descritos em uma tabela e foi feita uma revisão sistemática sobre a eficiência dos tratamentos atuais. Resultados Foram selecionados 29 artigos de ensaios clínicos por meio do critério de pré-seleção. Tratamentos cirúrgicos contra a SDRC tiveram uma eficiência de 56,9% na redução da sensação dolorosa e os tratamentos conservadores contra a SDRC tiveram uma eficiência de 40,82% na redução da sensação dolorosa. Conclusão A SDRC é uma doença que causa dor nos pacientes e piora da qualidade de vida dos afetados por ela. Os tratamentos são diversos e suas eficiências variam de ruim a excelente.

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BACKGROUND: A spinal intramedullary abscess is a rare clinical entity in which patients classically present with a subacute myelopathy and progressive paraplegia, sensory deficits, and/or bowel and bladder dysfunction. We report the second case of spinal intramedullary abscess caused by Candida albicans to ever be published and the first case of its kind to be surgically managed. CASE DESCRIPTION: A 44-year-old female presented with severe lumbar pain associated with paraparesis, incontinence, and paraplegia. She reported multiple hospital admissions and had a history of seizures, having already undergone treatment for neurotuberculosis and fungal infection of the central nervous system unsuccessfully. Nevertheless, no laboratory evidence of immunosuppression was identified on further investigation. Magnetic resonance imaging showed a D10-D11, well-circumscribed, intramedullary mass within the conus, which was hypointense on T1-weighted imaging and hyperintense on T2/STIR weighted. The patient underwent surgery for removal and biopsy of the lesion, which provided the diagnosis of an intramedullary abscess caused by C. albicans, a very rare condition with only one case reported in literature so far. CONCLUSION: C. albicans intramedullary abscess is a very rare clinical entity, especially in immunocompetent patients. We highlight C. albicans as an important etiology that must be considered in differential diagnosis. Critical evaluation of every case, early diagnosis, timely referral and surgical management of the abscess is essential to improve neurological outcome.

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BACKGROUND: Lead migration is a complication associated with occipital nerve stimulation (ONS). We present a rare case in which fibrosis in the stress relief loop caused lead migration in the treatment of occipital neuralgia. CASE DESCRIPTION: A 30-year-old woman with a 5-year history of refractory occipital neuralgia, who had been under ONS therapy for 2 months, presented with a sudden onset of typical occipital neuralgia pain associated with cervical muscles spasms and myoclonus. A skull radiography showed lead migration. The patient underwent surgery for lead repositioning. During surgery, we identified extensive fibrosis throughout the stress relief loop that produced several constriction points. The fibrosis in the stress relief loop increased tension on the lead during head-and-neck movement, causing progressive migration of the lead. CONCLUSION: Although lead migration is a common complication of ONS, its association with fibrosis in the stress relief loop has not, to the best of our knowledge, been reported before. Lead migration can directly affect treatment outcome and it is, therefore, important to fully understand the possible mechanisms that can cause it and how to promptly manage them.