Complex regional pain syndrome and lyme borreliosis: two different diseases?

Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) is a frequent complication appearing as pain of unexplained pathogenesis. Its association with Lyme borreliosis (LB) is fairly rare. In the presented clinical case, clinical features as well as the findings of radiological, radionuclide, neurophysiological and serological investigations pointed to an association between the two conditions. The patient fulfilled the criteria for both diagnoses, i.e. CRPS and LB. The subsequent antibiotic therapy resulted in a complete remission of both clinical entities.