title: The assessment of neuropathic pain patients.
abstract: SUMMARY Neuropathic pain arises as a direct consequence of a lesion or a disease affecting the somatosensory system. It is prevalent, under-diagnosed and under-treated. A key challenge to a clinician is to identify neuropathic pain and evaluate whether referral to a specialist is needed to clarify the causative disease. Location of neuropathic pain is neuroanatomically plausible, and clinical examination reveals abnormal sensory function in the area of pain. Sensory testing with simple tools is the most important part of the clinical examination. Other neurological findings are searched to conclude the location of the lesion in the neuraxis. Pain intensity and possible comorbidities such as impaired sleep, anxiety, depression and disability should be assessed at baseline and during management to evaluate the treatment effect.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Helsinki University Central Hospital, PO Box 266, 00029 HUS, Helsinki, Finland. maija.haanpaa@hus.fi.
authors.forename: Maija
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Haanpää