Sudeck's atrophy: a review of the literature.

Sudeck's atrophy, initiated by local irritation, proceeds from a mild form of neurovascular and osseous changes to a stage of increasing or intractable pain and trophic changes. Differential diagnosis is important as a number of conditions may produce a similar clinical picture. At any stage, the disease may improve spontaneously or from therapy, or it may result in varying degrees of permanent disability.