Reflex sympathetic dystrophy after a minor electric shock.

A 37-year-old right-handed female sustained a minor electric shock to her right hand while changing a bulb in a Kodak Reliant Intelligent Microfilmer 2000. She noted a progressive onset of parasthesias of her right hand that became associated with throbbing pain at rest, as well as swelling and profound weakness of her hand during the next two months. Plethysmography demonstrated arterial vasoconstriction of her right hand. Her reflex sympathetic dystrophy was successfully treated with cervicothoracic sympathetic blocks.