Cold hypersensitivity after hand injuries. A prospective 7-year follow-up

Abstract

We studied changes in cold hypersensitivity from 3 to 7 years following severe hand injuries. Data was collected using postal questionnaires 7 years after injury in 71 patients who had participated in a 3-year follow-up from the time of injury. There was no change in cold sensitivity measured using the McCabe Cold Sensitivity Severity scale (CSS) from 3 to 7 years after injury. However, there was a trend toward decreased severity measured using a five-level scale of self-reported cold hypersensitivity. Compared to the 3-year follow-up, fewer respondents rated their condition as severe and two patients had recovered from their cold hypersensitivity at the 7-year follow-up. Furthermore, 21 (30%) of the respondents stated a decrease in cold hypersensitivity during the last 2 years. Limitations in cold associated activities and the importance of being less limited in leisure activities (NRS 0-10) did not change between the two follow-ups. In conclusion, the CSS-scores did not change from 3 to 7 years after injury. Several patients experienced improvements in cold hypersensitivity, but few recovered completely from the condition.

Keywords:

• Cold hypersensitivity
• cold intolerance
• cold sensitivity
• hand injury
• nerve injury
• replantation
• McCabe Cold Sensitivity Severity Scale CSS

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the surgeons, hand therapists, and the administrative staff for facilitating the logistics in this project.