4.3 Neuropathic Pain Flashcards
a) What is neuropathic pain?
Neuropathic pain is pain initiated or caused
by a primary lesion or disease
of the somatosensory nervous system.
b) List a few pain descriptors used by patients to describe their
neuropathic pain.
● Burning.
● Tingling.
● Electric shock-like.
● Radiating.
● Pins and needles.
● Stabbing.
● Shooting.
● Crawling sensation.
● Lancinating.
● Gnawing.
● Scalding.
c) List any four examples of neuropathic pain.
● Trigeminal neuralgia.
● Post-herpetic neuralgia.
● Post-amputation pain.
● Painful diabetic neuropathy.
● Persistent post-surgical pain.
● Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS).
● Central post-stroke pain.
● Post-spinal cord injury pain.
d) List any three commonly used medications to manage
neuropathic pain and explain their mechanism of action.
● Amitripytline — tricyclic antidepressant.
● Gabapentin — alpha-2 delta ligand in calcium channel.
● Pregabalin — alpha-2 delta ligand in calcium channel.
● Duloxetine — SNRI
(serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor).
● Tramadol — opioid and serotoninergic.
● Lignocaine patch — sodium channel blockade.
● Capsaicin cream or patch — TRPV1 activation.
e) What pain scales are used to assess neuropathic pain?
● LEEDS Assessment of Neuropathic Symptoms and Signs (LANSS) scale.
● Douleur Neuropathique 4 (DN4) scale.
● Pain Detect scale.
f) Give examples of unidimensional pain scales.
● Visual analogue pain scale.
● Verbal pain rating scale.
● Numerical pain rating scale.
g) Give examples of multidimensional pain scales.
● Brief Pain Inventory (BPI).
● McGill Pain Questionnaire.
h) List any two pain assessment tools that you would use in a 5-
year-old child after an appendicectomy in the immediate
postoperative period.
● Wong-Baker FACES® scale.
● Pieces of Hurt scale.
● Face, Legs, Activity, Cry, Consolability (FLACC) scale.
