[Evaluation of pain in patients with spinal cord injury]

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study is to evaluate the pain in patients with spinal cord injury and it recurrences on daily activities. We report a prospective study about 30 cases of patients hospitalized for a spinal cord injury between march and may 2002. Pain was evaluated regarding to the time of appearance, the duration, the frequency, the type based on the TASP, the intensity based on the visual analogic scale, the sleep and social repercussion and daily actvities consequences. We report a series of 14 women and 16 men with a mean age of 30,4 years. The mean time of spinal cord injury occurence was about 2, 9 years. Twenty four patients were suffering from pain [80%]. In 61%of cases, the pain was chronic evolving for at least three months. It was noxious in 45%of cases and neuropathic in 80%of them. There were sleeping disturbances in 66%of cases and social repercussions in 62, 5%of patients. A professional reintegration was acquired in onIy 33%of patients. Pain is a frequent symptom in spinal cord injury. The evaluation of the pain can improve the management of patients suffering from this pathology. The improvement of therapeutic results needs evaluating scales standardization