• Rafael Gálvez, Carlos Marsal, Javier Vidal, Manuel Ruiz, and Javier Rejas.
• Pain and Palliative Care Unit, Hospital Universitario Virgen de las Nieves, Unidad de dolor y Cuidados Paliativos, Avda de las Fuerzas Armadas, 2, 18014 Granada, Spain. rafaelgalvez@hotmail.com
• Eur J Pain. 2007 Apr 1;11(3):244-55.

AimThe purpose of this cross-sectional evaluation was to determine the impact of neuropathic pain (NeP) on patient functioning and Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) under standard care conditions.MethodsPatients with NeP or neuropathic and nociceptive pain [Mixed Pain (MP)] enrolled in the DONEGA study, a naturalistic, prospective and multi-centre study of the effectiveness of gabapentin under usual care conditions, were included in this cross-sectional evaluation before starting study treatments. Participants completed the Short Form-McGill Pain Questionnaire, MOS Short Form-12 (SF-12), and Sheehan Disability Scale (ShDS). Multivariate analysis and regression models were used to analyze patient data.ResultsA total of 1519 patients [mean+/-SD; 56.0+/-13.7 yrs old (58.8% female)] with NeP or MP were enrolled in the study. The mean pain history was 1.1+/-2.8 yrs, current pain intensity on a 5-point visual analogue scale was 2.8+/-1.0 and mean pain in previous week was 71.3+/-19.0mm. Pain substantially interfered (i.e., score > or = 5 on 0-10 scale) with normal work (5.9+/-3.0), social life (5.7+/-3.0), and family life (5.3+/-3.0), producing substantial disability (total ShDS score of 16.9+/-8.3 pts). Country-standardised physical (PCS) and mental health (MCS) component summary scores of SF-12 indicated significant impairment in both domains compared with the general Spanish population: PCS; -1.13+/-1.0 SDS (standard deviation score), and MCS; -1.21+/-0.7 SDS, equivalent to the 15th and 25th percentiles of normative populations, respectively.ConclusionsUnder standard care conditions, neuropathic and mixed pain are associated with impaired physical and mental QoL, producing a substantial level of disability in these patients.

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