Revised Definition of Neuropathic Pain and Its Grading System: An Open Case Series Illustrating Its Use in Clinical Practice

The definition of neuropathic pain has recently been revised by an expert committee of the Neuropathic Pain Special Interest Group of the International Association for the Study of Pain (NeuPSIG) as "pain arising as direct consequence of a lesion or disease affecting the somatosensory system," and a grading system of "definite," "probable," and "possible" neuropathic pain has been introduced. This open case series of 5 outpatients (3 men, 2 women; mean age 48 +/- 12 years) demonstrates how the grading system can be applied, in combination with appropriate confirmatory testing, to diagnosis neuropathic conditions in clinical practice. The proposed grading system includes a dynamic algorithm …

Abstract of the 68th Meeting (Spring Meeting) 6–9 March 1990, Heidelberg

255 QUANTITATIVE SENSORY TESTING: ASSESSMENT OF THE NEUROPATHIC COMPONENT IN CANCER PAIN

Assessing Somatic, Psychosocial, and Spiritual Distress of Patients with Advanced Cancer

Objective: For adequate distress assessment in palliative care, we developed a screening evaluation tool. Methods: Proven methods of scale construction led to a 53-item pilot form of the Advanced Cancer Patients’ Distress Scale (ACPDS). We used Hornheide Questionnaire (HQ), Palliative Outcome Scale (POS), and Minimal Documentation System (MIDOS) for validation. Advanced cancer patients (N = 168) from 3 centers for palliative medicine (aged 23-89, 51% female) filled out the questionnaire. Results: With a principal component analysis (PCA), we extracted 5 distress scales (emotional reactions/physical restrictions, communication deficits, negative social reactions, pain, and gastrointestinal s…

Selective Sacral Nerve Blockade for the Treatment of Unstable Bladders

38 patients with severe urge or urge incontinence, who did not respond to conservative therapy, were treated with selective sacral nerve blockade using a local anesthetic (bupivacaine). 6 patients of this group had definite selective sacral denervation with phenol. In 31 patients a urodynamic study was done previous to the sacral nerve block as well as 10 and 90 min after the injection. Within the first 2-7 weeks the success rate was about 70% in regard to bladder capacity and mean volume at first desire to void. On long-term follow-up (greater than 7 months), the success rate decreased to about 16%. Only 1 patient of the phenol group still has complete detrusor areflexia for now more than …