ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES:
Peripheral nerve injuries caused by accidental trauma, surgeries or diseases, may evolve to persistent, severe and refractory neuropathic pain, being a major economic and social problem because it often affects most productive population group causing sometimes devastating incapacities. In this brief review, aspects of the prevalence of neuropathic pain by trauma injury of peripheral nerves and its treatment will be evaluated.
CONTENTS:
After evaluating neuropathic pain pathophysiology after peripheral nerve injury, the incidence of peripheral nerve trauma injury and of postoperative chronic pain, of predictive factors and of postoperative neuropathic pain prevention, pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment of post-trauma and postoperative painful neuropathy are appreciated.
CONCLUSION:
Literature has few studies evaluating neuropathic pain after trauma or surgical peripheral nerve injury and the expression "neuropathic pain" is not normally used to refer to pain after trauma nerve injury, which makes difficult to estimate the prevalence and incidence of post-trauma and postoperative painful neuropathy, although there is consensus that it is a severe worldwide problem, being considered a chronic disease with difficult and still inadequate treatment.
Keywords:
Chronic pain; Neuropathic pain; Peripheral nerves injury; Postoperative pain