Pain affects the quality of life of neuropathic patients

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Neurol Sci. 2006 Jul;27(3):155-60.

Pain affects the quality of life of neuropathic patients.

Cocito D, Paolasso I, Pazzaglia C, Tavella A, Poglio F, Ciaramitaro

P, Scarmozzino A, Cossa FM, Bergamasco B, Padua L.

U.O. Neurofisiologia Clinica, Dipartimento di Neuroscienze,

Universita di Torino, Via Cherasco 15, I-10126, Torino, Italy.

The aim of this study was to verify the extent to which the presence

of pain affects the quality of life (QoL) of neuropathic patients.

The patients were selected in our Department of Peripheral Nervous

System Diseases. We enrolled 120 consecutive patients with chronic

polyneuropathy who had not received continuous pain therapy during

the two months preceding study entry, and administered them the Total

Neuropathy Score (TNS), the official Italian version of the SF-36 and

the Italian Pain Questionnaire (QUID).

Our main finding was that the QoL is affected not only by the

presence of neuropathy, but also by the presence and intensity of

pain: the physical aspect of the QoL correlated only weakly with the

TNS, but pain was closely related to a worsening in this parameter;

moreover, the mental domains of the SF-36 were only correlated with

pain. Pain per se worsens the QoL of neuropathic patients, regardless

of disease severity.