BACKGROUND: pain is a common symptom of peripheral neuropathies that may severely affect patients' Quality of Life. Pain questionnaires, based on verbal descriptors, are a useful way to investigate it. METHODS: we performed a multicentre study through validated measures to characterize pain in a sample of consecutive patients affected by immune-mediated neuropathies. RESULTS: ninety-three patients were enrolled in 16 Italian centres. Based on the numeric rating scale, almost half of the patients complained of moderate pain and one-third of the patients severe pain. Overall, up to 50% of our patients with immune-mediated neuropathies complained of neuropathic pain. The most common neuropathic symptoms were paraesthesia/dysesthesia and superficial spontaneous pain. Surprisingly, also patients with neuropathies commonly thought to be painless (such as multifocal motor neuropathy) reported discomfort and painful symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: pain questionnaires should be considered in the clinical evaluation of immune-mediated neuropathies, also when evaluating therapy efficacy, because they may provide clinicians with useful information on painful symptoms and patients' quality of life.

Quality of life and disability assessment in neuropathy: a multicenter study / L. Padua, A. Schenone, I. Aprile, L. Benedetti, P. Calandro, P. Tonali, E. Nobile-Orazio. - In: JOURNAL OF THE PERIPHERAL NERVOUS SYSTEM. - ISSN 1085-9489. - 10:1(2005 Jan), pp. 3-10.

Quality of life and disability assessment in neuropathy: a multicenter study

E. Nobile-Orazio
Ultimo
2005

Abstract

BACKGROUND: pain is a common symptom of peripheral neuropathies that may severely affect patients' Quality of Life. Pain questionnaires, based on verbal descriptors, are a useful way to investigate it. METHODS: we performed a multicentre study through validated measures to characterize pain in a sample of consecutive patients affected by immune-mediated neuropathies. RESULTS: ninety-three patients were enrolled in 16 Italian centres. Based on the numeric rating scale, almost half of the patients complained of moderate pain and one-third of the patients severe pain. Overall, up to 50% of our patients with immune-mediated neuropathies complained of neuropathic pain. The most common neuropathic symptoms were paraesthesia/dysesthesia and superficial spontaneous pain. Surprisingly, also patients with neuropathies commonly thought to be painless (such as multifocal motor neuropathy) reported discomfort and painful symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: pain questionnaires should be considered in the clinical evaluation of immune-mediated neuropathies, also when evaluating therapy efficacy, because they may provide clinicians with useful information on painful symptoms and patients' quality of life.
neuropathy, dysability
Settore MED/26 - Neurologia
gen-2005
Article (author)
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/2434/15107
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