title: Study of verbal description in neuropathic pain.
abstract: The aim of this paper is to study the quality of verbal description and its diagnostic value in neuropathic pain. The verbal description of pain as assessed by a French adjective list questionnaire (QDSA) is compared between a group of 100 patients with neuropathic pain and a mixed group of 97 chronic benign and cancer non-neuropathic pain patients. Seventeen descriptors of the 61 QDSA descriptors have a significant intergroup frequency difference. By principal component analysis and Varimax rotation of the intercorrelation matrix of descriptors in the neuropathic group. 7 factors accounting for 66.0% of the total variance are derived. Six factors reflect purely sensory or affective aspects of the pain experience. Seven descriptors from the discriminant analysis function correctly assign 77% of neuropathic pain patients and 81% of the non-neuropathic pain patients. In a second neuropathic pain group of 32 patients, the discriminant function coefficient permits correct diagnostic categorization in 66% of the cases. Implications for clinical practice and trials are discussed.
authors: Centre d'Evaluation et de Traitement de la Douleur, Hôpital Saint-Antoine, ParisFrance.
authors: F
authors: F
authors: Boureau
authors: J F
authors: JF
authors: Doubrère
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Luu
mesh_terms: D016002:Discriminant Analysis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009422:Nervous System Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D010146:Pain; D010147:Pain Measurement / Q000379:methods*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires