Review of measures of neuropathic pain

Abstract

Eight measures of neuropathic pain exist that have been designed to discriminate neuropathic from non-neuropathic pain and detect treatment effects. The current paper describes these measures and summarizes the evidence supporting their validity. Based on the available evidence, the Leeds Assessment of Neuropathic Signs and Symptoms appears to have the most empirical support as a measure that distinguishes patients with and without neuropathic pain in patient samples presenting with mixed chronic pain problems. However, given the lack of overlap in measures designed for this purpose, it is likely that the validity of any one measure could be improved by incorporating items from the others. The Neuropathic Pain Scale (NPS) has the most empirical support as a measure of treatment outcome, although a new measure that includes the NPS items (the Pain Quality Assessment Scale) will likely prove to be even more useful, because it includes pain descriptors common to people with neuropathic and other chronic pain conditions not included on the NPS.