Characteristics of chronic neuropathic pain and their relationship with psychological well-being in spinal cord injury patients

To determine the prevalence of neuropathic pain (NP) in a sample of patients with spinal cord injury (SCI), to examine the relation between clinical, demographic and psychological characteristics with the prevalence of NP after SCI and the different types of NP, and to study predictive factors. Transversal observational study of 260 patients who attended their annual revision. Main outcome measures included presence/absence of NP, psychological well-being index, detailed pain history and 0-10 numerical rating scale of average pain intensity. 93 patients (36%) with SCI had NP. Of the patients with NP, 35% showed pain at level, while 65% showed NP below the level of injury. The only variable with a predictive value on the prevalence of NP was older age at the time of SCI. Statistically significant differences were observed between the prevalence of NP and the perception of psychological well-being; patients with NP were the ones with more psychological distress. As for the different types of NP, the variables with predictive value on the classification of NP were early onset of pain at level, and incompleteness of the lesion in the below level NP. The results of this study show that NP appears frequently after SCI being more prevalent in patients who suffered the injury at more advanced ages. NP has a negative impact on the perception of psychological well-being.