ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES:
Pain is a subjective symptom which may be measured by means of its several features, such as intensity, quality, location, duration and impact on daily activities. Due to the lack of means to better classify such symptoms, several studies have used intensity as the only evaluation measurement. To develop other types of research it was necessary the development of new tools to identify and measure remaining domains of pain. This review aimed at describing and analyzing available tools for neuropathic pain diagnosis and evaluation.
CONTENTS:
Several tools were developed to evaluate neuropathic pain. Among them there are those validated for neuropathic pain in general, such as Leeds Assessment of Neuropathic Symptoms and Signs Pain Scale and its self-report version (self-administered LANNS), Douleur Neuropathique 4 Questions, Neuropathic Pain Questionnaire and its short form (NPQshort form), painDetect and ID-Pain. These are the most widely used tools worldwide for having a cutoff point, which makes them more objective tools. Other tools are Neuropathic Pain Scale, Pain Quality Assessment Scale and Neuropathic Pain Symptom Inventory. Tools translated and validated for the Portuguese language are Leeds Assessment of Neuropathic Symptoms and Signs Pain Scale, Douleur Neuropathique 4 Questions and Neuropathic Pain Symptom Inventory.
CONCLUSION:
There are several tools which may be used to screen neuropathic pain, while others were developed for its evaluation. Among them there are those more objective and more commonly used. Some of these tools were translated and validated for the Brazilian Portuguese language.
Keywords:
Pain; Pain measurement; Scale