CRPS Treatment: pain in both hands for 4 years

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CRPS Treatment: pain in both hands for 4 years

Contents

General details and patient's info

Gender:Female.
Age:51 years old at the time of treatment.
Home Country:Australia.
Illness duration:4 years prior to the Neridronate Treatment.
Cause:Left wrist fracture, while working. The patient, an experienced chef, injured herself falling on the floor during service. She had her hand and arm in a cast for 30 days, after which her CRPS started.
Symptoms:: Intense burning pain and crushing sensation; very sensitive to touch, water and wind; difficulties to use her left hand; one year after CRPS onset, the symptoms spread to right hand and arm.
Clinical evaluation:CRPS. 
Time of treatment:October 2022.

Why the Patient decided to undergo the CRPS Treatment in Italy

The patient visited about 9 different doctors in Australia before receiving a diagnosis. She then started physiotherapy, acupuncture and mirror therapy. She was prescribed with lots of different medications, but she could not manage her pain and had to quit her job. One of her neighbors, an Italian retired cardiologist, knew about Neridronate and invited her to research the treatment, and the patient decided to undergo the treatment.

Medical treatment the Patient underwent in Italy

Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) is a severely painful and disabling disease for which a multitude of therapeutic interventions have been proposed. In the past two decades, only Bisphosphonates gained credibility. In recent years, more convincing evidence has become available on the use of Parenteral Neridronate. Since 2014, this drug is registered and marketed in Italy for the treatment of CRPS. To date, the only therapeutic schedule that is recognized to be able to confer benefit is the intravenous (IV) administration of 100 mg given 4 times.

4 neridronate infusions (100mg, I.v. in saline Solution 0,9% 250 ml)

See the Official Study on the Oxford Academics website: https://academic.oup.com/rheumatology/article/52/3/534/1777330
4 Pantoprazole infusions; Paracetamol.
2 sessions Neuromuscular Rehabilitation Treatment Treatment with Physiotherapist.
Rehabilitation therapy is a full body workout which focuses on the general wellbeing of the body, to help the affected limb get back to its normal self.

Daily Report

DAY 1: Arrival at the Venice airport, greeted by her Patient Manager, followed by check-in at her Hotel in Verona. Briefing focused on the next days.

DAY 2: Rest day in the hotel, in contact with her Patient Manager.

DAY 3: Rest day in the hotel, in contact with her Patient Manager.

DAY 4: Morning pick-up by her Patient Manager, 1st visit with the Rheumatologist Professor, 1st Rehabilitation session, and 1st Neridronate infusion.

DAY 5: Morning pick-up by her Patient Manager, 2nd Neridronate infusion. The patient feels tired but quite well, she has lunch with her Patient Manager and a walk in Verona center.

DAY 6: Morning pick-up by her Patient Manager, 2nd Rehabilitation session and 3rd Neridronate infusion. The patient reports some tiredness, but she wishes to discover a bit of Italy, in the afternoon she visits Vicenza and Palladio’s Teatro Olimpico.

DAY 7: Rest day in the hotel, in contact with her Patient Manager.

DAY 8: Morning pick-up by her Patient Manager, 2nd visit with Rheumatologist Professor, 4th Neridronate infusion. The patient spends the afternoon resting in hotel.

DAY 9: Pick-up by her Patient Manager and day trip to Venice. The patient feels well, and she walks for hours.

DAY 10: The patient rests in hotel during the morning and after lunch she visits the Garda Lake with her Patient Manager.

DAY 11: Rest day with some shopping in Verona, in contact with her Patient Manager.

Day 12: Early pick-up from her Patient Manager and drop off Venice airport to fly back home.

Follow up

DECEMBER 2022 (2 month after Neridronate treatment): the patient refers a light decrease of her pain, but still has difficulties in using her hands.

FEBRUARY 2023 (4 months after Neridronate treatment): the patient refers a 50% decrease of pain, and she is able to work a bit with her hands. She does not need help anymore to do things like opening bottles, cutting food and similar activities.

MAY 2023 (7 months after Neridronate treatment): the patient says that her pain levels are easily manageable and puts it at 60% improvement compared to before treatment. She is still recovering the use of her hands and she plans to go back to her job at soonest.

JUNE 2023 (8 months after Neridronate treatment): the patient is back at her part-time job. She is following physiotherapy and feels much strong and positive.

Conclusion

Even though the reduction of pain is the main goal of any CRPS patient, being able to live again a normal life is a great success. This patient really believed that the treatment was her best option and is grateful for the results.
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DISCLAIMER
This is not a medical case study; it merely describes each patient’s journey, and it omits all personal data. The people who redacted it are not doctors but all the facts reported are objective and represent the patient’s reality thanks to the information in our possession. The report is not part of any clinical trials. It was written to provide more information to patients who have made multiple requests for treatment outcomes of cases like theirs.