Clinical Characteristics, Patient-Reported Outcomes, and Previous Therapeutic Management of Patients with Uncontrolled Neuropathic Pain Referred to Pain Clinics
Table 2
Pain characteristics.
Characteristic
Overall
Primary care
Traumatology
Neurology
Neurosurgery
Rehabilitation
Rheumatology
Other surgeries
Other specialties
DN4 (0–10), mean ± SD
VAS, mean ± SD
Duration of pain (yrs), mean ± SD
Causes for uncontrolled pain, %
Misdiagnosis
11.1
11.9
12.8
3.6
5.2
12.7
9.4
16.1
8.3
Nonoptimized treatment
87.6
82.2
93.4
82.1
87.9
83.3
90.6
88.7
83.3
Use of ineffective drugs
45.8
45.9
50.4
28.3
37.3
46.7
41.4
52.7
44.3
Subtherapeutic dose
45.7
48.5
46.0
47.8
43.1
56.5
41.4
30.9
50.0
Other
25.3
18.6
23.5
37.0
39.2
20.0
24.7
21.8
31.0
Lack of compliance
7.2
5.1
5.9
12.5
5.2
11.1
15.6
4.8
6.2
Intolerance
6.6
9.3
3.3
16.1
6.9
2.8
9.4
3.2
7.8
Other
7.3
8.5
9.8
10.7
6.9
11.1
3.1
8.1
4.1
Causes of neuropathic pain, %
Neuropathy
Diabetic
3.8
10.4
0.9
5.8
0.0
2.8
0.0
3.5
6.1
Other
3.2
0.9
0.9
5.8
1.8
2.8
9.4
8.8
0.0
Neuralgia
Trigeminal
4.6
7.0
0.4
25.0
5.5
0.0
4.2
5.3
0.0
Other
3.5
2.6
2.1
7.7
3.6
2.8
3.3
3.1
8.8
Radiculopathy
43.1
32.5
67.0
11.5
63.6
52.8
63.3
8.3
3.5
Nerve entrapment syndrome
5.6
4.4
2.1
0.0
5.5
2.8
16.7
1.8
9.4
Plexopathy
3.5
3.5
3.9
3.8
0.0
5.2
3.3
1.8
2.8
Complex regional pain syndrome
5.2
0.9
8.6
5.8
3.6
16.7
3.3
1.8
1.0
Postsurgery/trauma
7.8
3.5
3.0
1.9
5.5
2.8
3.3
11.5
45.6
Malignant/radiation/chemotherapy-induced pain
14.3
36.0
1.3
11.5
5.5
0.0
3.3
41.7
8.8
Central neuropathic pain
3.0
0.9
1.3
17.3
5.5
11.1
0.0
1.0
0.0
Other neuropathic pains
2.5
1.8
1.3
3.8
0.0
2.1
3.3
10.5
2.8
DN4: neuropathic pain diagnostic questionnaire; SD: standard deviation; VAS: visual analog scale; Yrs: years.
