Neuropathic pain in children

Abstract

The International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) defines neuropathic pain as being caused by a lesion or dysfunction of the nervous system. Characteristics that would define neuropathic pain and differentiate it from other types of pain include: pain and sensory symptoms that persist beyond the healing period; presence, in variable degree, of neurological sensory signs manifesting as negative and positive sensory phenomena; presence, in variable degree, of other neurological signs, including motor, manifesting as negative and positive motor phenomena or autonomic signs. Many of the conditions causing neuropathic pain in adults are rare in children, but some forms of neuropathic pain do affect children and adolescents as complex regional pain syndrome or phantom limb pain. Treatment strategies that have demonstrated to be efficacious in adults have been extrapolated to be used in children, including medications, nerve blocks, physical therapy, and behavioral medicine. A multidisciplinary program that combines all of these approaches provides the best chance of relief.