Which scenario is most consistent with complex regional pain syndrome?

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CRPS is a chronic pain condition that often follows a trauma or surgical event and targets a limb, with pain that is disproportionate to the initial injury and accompanied by autonomic and trophic changes in the affected limb. The scenario described—severe arm pain after surgery with limb atrophy and no fever—fits this pattern because it shows a regional, intense pain that cannot be explained by normal healing, along with visible trophic change (atrophy) and absence of fever (arguing against infection).

In contrast, fever and rash point toward an infectious or inflammatory process rather than CRPS. Pain that improves with rest conflicts with CRPS, which typically involves persistent pain that may be amplified by movement and is not simply relieved by rest. Isolated leg pain without injury lacks the triggering trauma or surgery that commonly precedes CRPS and does not fit the regional, post-traumatic pattern.