Budapest Criteria for Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS)
A structured checklist to support clinical assessment of suspected CRPS. Record what the patient reports separately from findings present on examination. The checklist evaluates whether the entered information fulfils the Budapest clinical criteria.
For clinicians only. This tool is for healthcare professionals and clinical education only. It does not diagnose, replace clinical judgement, or replace specialist assessment. Any decisions about a patient must be based on full clinical assessment, investigations where appropriate, and current clinical guidelines.
Budapest clinical criteria for CRPS — assessment summary Assessment date: 10 Sept 2026 Is the patient experiencing ongoing pain that is disproportionate to the inciting event? Not assessed Symptoms (reported by the patient): Sensory: Not assessed Vasomotor: Not assessed Sudomotor / oedema: Not assessed Motor / trophic: Not assessed Signs (present on examination): Sensory: Not assessed Vasomotor: Not assessed Sudomotor / oedema: Not assessed Motor / trophic: Not assessed After considering alternative diagnoses, is there no other diagnosis that better explains these findings? Not assessed Symptom categories: 0/4 — requirement ≥3 Sign categories: 0/4 — requirement ≥2 Pain requirement: Not assessed Alternative-diagnosis requirement: Not assessed Result: Assessment incomplete Outstanding responses: - Pain disproportionate to the inciting event - Sensory — patient-reported symptom - Sensory — sign on examination - Vasomotor — patient-reported symptom - Vasomotor — sign on examination - Sudomotor / oedema — patient-reported symptom - Sudomotor / oedema — sign on examination - Motor / trophic — patient-reported symptom - Motor / trophic — sign on examination - No other diagnosis better explains the findings Sources: European Pain Federation — Budapest criteria guidance; Royal College of Physicians CRPS checklist hosted by the European Pain Federation. https://europeanpainfederation.eu/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/CRPS-Budapest-criteria-checklist.pdf Clinical decision support only. Does not independently establish or exclude a diagnosis. drramani.co
- Symptom categories:
- 0/4 — requirement ≥3
- Sign categories:
- 0/4 — requirement ≥2
- Pain requirement:
- Not assessed
- Alternative-diagnosis requirement:
- Not assessed
- Pain disproportionate to the inciting event
- Sensory — patient-reported symptom
- Sensory — sign on examination
- Vasomotor — patient-reported symptom
- Vasomotor — sign on examination
- Sudomotor / oedema — patient-reported symptom
- Sudomotor / oedema — sign on examination
- Motor / trophic — patient-reported symptom
- Motor / trophic — sign on examination
- No other diagnosis better explains the findings
Responses stay in this page only. Nothing is saved or sent.
All four requirements are evaluated together: disproportionate ongoing pain, symptoms in at least 3 of 4 categories, signs in at least 2 of 4 categories, and no other diagnosis that better explains the findings.
Symptom and sign categories are counted independently. A category counts in both columns only when both responses are explicitly Yes. No combined score, severity grade or probability is produced, and no CRPS subtype is assigned.
The examination threshold of a temperature difference exceeding 1°C follows the Royal College of Physicians checklist hosted by the European Pain Federation. A difference of exactly 1°C does not meet it. The threshold applies to the temperature finding only; a qualifying skin-colour finding can satisfy the vasomotor category on its own.
Do not apply this numerical threshold to patient-reported temperature symptoms. Unanswered items remain Not assessed and are never read as No.
For clinicians only. This tool is for healthcare professionals and clinical education only. It does not diagnose, replace clinical judgement, or replace specialist assessment. Any decisions about a patient must be based on full clinical assessment, investigations where appropriate, and current clinical guidelines.
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