The Prevalence of acute neuropathic pain after surgery in Hospital of Lithuanian University of Health Sciences Kaunas clinics

Abstract

Background. Acute neuropathic pain is now known as a cause of post surgical pain and often is under-recognized, difficult to treat and one that may progress to persistent pain and disability. General population studies, using validated screening instruments, have found that 7-8% of adults currently havechronic pain with neuropathic characteristics. But no such study was performed in Lithuania. Objectives. To evaluate the prevalence of neuropathic pain after surgery. Methods. The data from 109 patients who had surgical procedures in Hospital of Lithuanian University of Health Sciences Kaunas Clinics Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Surgery and Urology departments from February 2015 to June 2015 were collected. Patients were questioned according to survey made by authors. pain intensity were evaluated according to visual and verbal analogue scales 24 and 48 hours after surgery. For neuropathic pain evaluation survey included DouleurNeuropathique 4 (DN4) questionnaire which has been well validated in a number of studeis. Statistical data analysis was performed with SPSS 22.0 P<0,05 were used. Results. The study includes 109 participants: 40 males (36.7%) and 69 females (63.3%. Patients mean age was 58.7 years (standart deviation 16.2). The 3.7% of patients felt neuropathic pain in the first day after surgical procedure, accordingly 4.6% - in the second. Conclusions. The prevalence of neuropathic pain is about 4% it is lower than data from other studies (7-25%).