Objective improvements in algodystrophy following regional intravenous guanethidine.

17 patients with established algodystrophy following trauma were treated with serial intravenous regional guanethidine blockade. Subjective improvement occurred in all cases. This improvement could be confirmed quantitatively using objective assessment criteria. The subjective and objective improvements demonstrated in each of the features of algodystrophy correlate closely (p < 0.001). There appears to be no difference in the effectiveness of one block compared to another in the same patient.