[Comparison of severity of chronic pain in patients differing in pain diagnosis: an analysis by means of the Mainz Pain Staging System].
BACKGROUND
Testing the validity of the Mainz Pain Staging System (MPSS) is often carried out by pain classification according to chronic stage. It is assumed that pain syndromes distribute equally over the chronic stages. This analysis was carried out to answer three questions: Do different pain syndromes vary in chronicity, do the four axes of the MPSS differ between pain syndromes, and are there any specific item responses with respect to a pain syndrome?


METHODS
406 patients with different pain diagnoses were included in this analysis. Patients were chosen from the PAIN-Documentation-System of the pain outpatients' department of the Medical University of Luebeck. The pain score according to MPSS had been assessed, and a diagnosis attributed according to the Multidimensional Classification of Pain (MASK).


RESULTS
Pain diagnoses do differ in pain chronification. Patients with headache showing the lowest chronification, and patients with back pain describing the most severe chronification, formed the extreme patient groups. Further analysis using the axes of the MPSS demonstrate different sensitivity with respect to pain syndromes, i. e. intake of drugs being the least sensitive and aspects of time being the most sensitive axes. Statistical analysis using configural frequency analysis indicated a relation between pain syndromes and specific item responses.


CONCLUSIONS
Using pain stages of the MPSS as an experimental factor in studies of pain, it is imperative either to control pain syndromes or to confine to a single pain syndrome, to avoid confusion between pain syndromes and severity of pain chronification.
Hüppe
M
M
Klinik für Anästhesiologie, Medizinische Universität zu Lübeck. hueppe@medinf.mu-luebeck.de
Matthiessen
V
V
Lindig
M
M
Preuss
S
S
Meier
T
T
Baumeier
W
W
Gerlach
K
K
Schmucker
P
P
D002908:Chronic Disease; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005858:Germany; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D008959:Models, Neurological; D010146:Pain / Q000145:classification / Q000503:physiopathology*; D010147:Pain Measurement / Q000379:methods*