Characteristics of neuropathic pain in individuals with chronic spinal cord injury.

OBJECTIVE: To present the characteristics of neuropathic pain in individuals with chronic spinal cord injury (SCI).

METHODS: We recruited all individuals with chronic SCI referred to the Brain and Spine Injury Research center with a diagnosis of neuropathic pain from April 2013 to September 2015 into this historical cohort study.

RESULTS: Forty individuals with chronic SCI-induced neuropathic pain entered this study with a mean age of 43.67+/-13.12 years and a majority of who were male (n=30, 75%). Motor vehicle collision (n=25, 62.5%) and fall (n=7, 17.5%) were the most common causes of SCI in our participants. There were 13 (32.5%) cervical, twenty (50%) thoracic, and 7 (17.5%) lumbosacral SCI. The mean `maximal pain intensity`, `overall pain intensity during the past week`, and `the pain intensity at the initial consultation in pain clinic` measured by numerical rating scale (NRS) in this cohort were 8.71+/-1.73, 6.32+/-1.60, and 6.11+/-2.48, respectively. Burning pain was the most frequently used description of pain reported by our participants. Pain intensity significantly decreased after six months of treatment for all three above categories.

CONCLUSION: This study provides characteristics of neuropathic pain in a group of individuals with chronic SCI. Further large prospective studies are needed to determine the association between lesion level, completeness of injury, and region of pain.