Reflex neurovascular dystrophy in childhood.

Reflex neurovascular dystrophy has rarely been recognized in children. During the past eight years we have observed 24 instances of RND in 23 children. Lower extremity involvement was manifested in 20 of them and upper extremity in four. The major complaint was pain; swelling and vasomotor instability were prominent, and exquisite tenderness was characteristic. Chronic trophic changes were not observed. Antecedent illness or trauma could be related to the RND in less than half of the children, but personality factors appeared contributory to the development of RND in most children. Physical therapy was the principal form of treatment; therapy with a corticosteroid or by sympathetic blockade was not employed. Reduction in the evidences of disease, including improvement in function, were present in all children at the termination of therapy; improvement was maintained in all but one child after a mean period of 2.4 years. The excellent response to conservative therapy suggests that RND may be a more benign condition in children than in adults.