CRPS and Vaccines

Complex regional pain syndrome following immunization

1. Stephanie Richards1, 
2. George Chalkiadis2, 
3. Raman Lakshman3, 
4. Jim P Buttery1,4,5,
5. Nigel W Crawford1,4,6

-Author Affiliations

1. ¹SAEFVIC, Department of General Medicine, Royal Children's Hospital (RCH), Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
2. ²Department of Anaesthetics and Pain Management, Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
3. ³Department of Paediatrics, West Suffolk Hospital NHS Trust, Suffolk, UK
4. ⁴Murdoch Children's Research Institute (MCRI), Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
5. ⁵Paediatric Infectious Diseases Unit, Department of Paediatrics, Monash Children's Hospital, Southern Health, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
6. ⁶Department of Paediatrics, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

1. Correspondence toDr Nigel W Crawford, SAEFVIC Immunisation Safety Service, Department of General Medicine, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Royal Children's Hospital, Flemington Road, Parkville, Melbourne, VIC 3052, Australia; nigel.crawford@rch.org.au

• Accepted 26 June 2012
• Published Online First 1 August 2012

Abstract

Complex regional pain syndrome type 1 (CRPS-1) is a clinical syndrome that affects one or more extremities and is characterised by persistent pain disproportionate to any inciting event, and at least one sign of autonomic dysfunction in the affected limb(s). The pathogenesis of this syndrome is poorly understood, but its onset is often precipitated by a physical injury, such as minor trauma, fracture, infection or a surgical procedure. In the literature, there are reports of CRPS-1 following immunization with rubella and hepatitis B vaccines. Here we present a case series of CRPS-1 following immunisation in adolescents, with either diphtheria-tetanus-acellular pertussis (1 case), or human papillomavirus vaccines (4 cases). Enhanced awareness of this syndrome and its potential to occur following immunization in the paediatric population is vital to the prompt and effective management of this condition.

Okay, not the most enlightening of abstracts.  A little research, however, disclosed this 2004 case study available in its entirety in the European Journal of Pain 9 (2005) 517-521:  Complex Regional Pain Syndrome Type-1 After Rubella Vaccine.  It's available through RSDS.org and its impressive library of free research.