title: Chronic pain in land mine accident survivors in Cambodia and Kurdistan.
abstract: The aims of the study were to study chronic pain in land mine accident survivors, and to study the impact of trauma and trauma care parameters on chronic pain. The level of chronic pain was registered (patient-rated and by clinical examination) in 57 severely injured adult land mine accident survivors in Cambodia and Northern Iraq more than one year after the accident. As all study patients had been managed by a standardized trauma system, we could assess the impact of injury severity and primary trauma care on chronic pain. 64% of the study patients (n=36) had chronic pain syndromes (non-significant difference between the two countries). 68% of the amputees (19 out of 28) had phantom limb pain. Pre-injury trauma exposure, the severity of the actual trauma, and the quality of trauma care had no impact on end point chronic pain. In 85% of cases (n=48), the economic standing of the patients' family had deteriorated after the accident. Patient-rated loss of income correlated with the rate of chronic pain syndromes.
authors.affiliation: Tromsoe Mine Victim Resource Center (TMC), Institute of Clinical Medicine, Tromose University Hospital, P O Box 80, N-9038, Tromsoe, Norway. hhusum@c2i.net
authors.forename: Hans
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Husum
authors.forename: Kirsten
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Resell
authors.forename: Gyri
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Vorren
authors.forename: Yang Van
authors.initials: YV
authors.lastname: Heng
authors.forename: Mudhafar
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Murad
authors.forename: Mads
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gilbert
authors.forename: Torben
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wisborg
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000674:Amputees / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D001753:Blast Injuries / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000601:surgery; D002160:Cambodia / Q000453:epidemiology; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005107:Explosions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015601:Injury Severity Score; D007493:Iraq / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D010146:Pain / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D010147:Pain Measurement; D010591:Phantom Limb / Q000453:epidemiology; D012423:Rural Health; D017741:Survivors / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014857:Warfare