title: Validation of the Greek Version of the DN4 Diagnostic Questionnaire for Neuropathic Pain.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The Douleur Neuropathique 4 questionnaire (DN4) was developed by the French Neuropathic Pain Group and is a simple and objective tool, primarily designed to screen for neuropathic pain. The aim of our study is to validate the DN4 in the Greek language.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study was set up as a prospective observational study. Two pain specialists independently examined patients and diagnosed them with neuropathic, nociceptive, or mixed pain, according to the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) definitions. A third and a fourth physician administered the DN4 questionnaire to the patients.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Out of the 237 patients who met our inclusion criteria and had identical diagnoses regarding the type of pain, 123 were diagnosed with neuropathic, 59 with nociceptive, and 55 with mixed pain. Among patients with identical diagnoses of neuropathic or nociceptive pain, using a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, the area under the curve (AUC) was 0.92. A cutoff point of equal or greater than 4 resulted in a sensitivity of 93% and a specificity of 78%. Among patients suffering from pain with neuropathic element (neuropathic or mixed pain) or pain with no neuropathic element (nociceptive pain), using a ROC curve analysis, the AUC was 0.89. A cutoff point of equal or greater than 4 resulted in a sensitivity of 89% and a specificity of 78%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The Greek version of DN4 is a valid tool for discriminating between neuropathic and nociceptive pain conditions in daily practice.
authors.affiliation: 1st Anaesthesiology Clinic, Pain Relief and Palliative Care Unit, Aretaieion University Hospital, University of Athens, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Panagiota
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sykioti
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Evangelismos General Hospital, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Panagiotis
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zis
authors.affiliation: 1st Anaesthesiology Clinic, Pain Relief and Palliative Care Unit, Aretaieion University Hospital, University of Athens, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Athina
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vadalouca
authors.affiliation: 1st Anaesthesiology Clinic, Pain Relief and Palliative Care Unit, Aretaieion University Hospital, University of Athens, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Ioanna
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Siafaka
authors.affiliation: 1st Anaesthesiology Clinic, Pain Relief and Palliative Care Unit, Aretaieion University Hospital, University of Athens, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Eriphili
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Argyra
authors.affiliation: Inserm U987, Ambroise Pare Hospital, Boulogne-Billancourt and UVSQ University, Versailles, France.
authors.forename: Didier
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bouhassira
authors.affiliation: 1st Anaesthesiology Clinic, Pain Relief and Palliative Care Unit, Aretaieion University Hospital, University of Athens, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Evmorfia
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Stavropoulou
authors.affiliation: 1st Department of Neurology, Aeginition Hospital, University of Athens, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Nikolaos
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Karandreas
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D035843:Biomedical Research; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019303:Multilingualism; D009437:Neuralgia / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D010147:Pain Measurement / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*; D010820:Physicians; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*
keywords: DN4; Douleur Neuropathique 4; Greek; neuropathic; pain; validation