title: [Assessment of chronic pain as a disability in patients with spinal cord injuries].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate pain and its impact on daily life activities in patients with spinal cord injuries.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients with chronic pain associated with spinal cord injuries were mailed 2 questionnaires: the multidimensional pain inventory for spinal cord injury, which includes a visual numeric scale for pain; and the quality of life questionnaire SF-36.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twenty-two of the 28 patients (women 9, men 19) who were mailed the questionnaires responded. The location of pain was, in decreasing order: lower limbs, upper limbs, trunk. The clinical type of pain was usually neuropathic, and the mean pain intensity was 7.2+/-2.16. Eleven patients experienced sleep disturbances. In 17 patients, daily activities were limited because of pain (not counting 2 patients who were unable to answer because of hospitalization). Among 6 working patients (of 22), 5 experienced limitations in their job because of pain. SF-36 scores, which reflect psychological and physical health, were well below those of the general population.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Despite the small size of our population and lack of a French-language validation of the questionnaire, these preliminary results point out the important interference of chronic pain in functional autonomy and quality of life in patients with spinal cord injuries.
authors.affiliation: Service de médecine physique et de réadaptation, hôpital de Pontchaillou, CHU de Rennes, Rennes cedex, France.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Khenioui
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Cahagne
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Brissot
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002908:Chronic Disease; D006233:Persons with Disabilities; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010146:Pain / Q000150:complications* / Q000209:etiology*; D010147:Pain Measurement; D026684:Personal Autonomy; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000150:complications* / Q000534:rehabilitation