title: Prevalence and characteristics of neuropathic pain in leprosy patients treated years ago.
abstract: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of neuropathic pain, now recognized as another late complication of leprosy, and its characteristics among leprosy patients. A cross-sectional study was carried out of people treated for leprosy up to at least 5 years ago in a rural area of Ethiopia. Seventy-four patients were interviewed using the Neuropathic Pain Symptom Inventory (NPSI) questionnaire. In total, 78.9% of the patients were female with a mean age of 42.9. The mean time from initial diagnosis to the time of the study was 28.0 years, and 73.0% of patients were diagnosed over 20 years ago. Fifty-two (70.3%) reported having symptoms suggestive of neuropathic pain and the majority described the pain as burning (88.5%), electric (80.8%), stabbing (76.9%), cutting (76.9%), tingling (65.4%), squeezing (57.7%), and/or pressure (53.8%). The pain caused a severe or moderate impact on daily life in 75% and 57.7% of cases, respectively, and 92.3% suffered from disrupted sleep. Eighty percent of patients with pain (42/52) took some medication for pain relief. Neuropathic pain is common in patients treated for leprosy and in more than half of them, it causes disruption in their daily life and sleep, limiting their quality of life even more.
authors.forename: José Manuel
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Ramos
authors.forename: Beatriz
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Alonso-Castañeda
authors.forename: Dejene
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Eshetu
authors.forename: Deriba
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lemma
authors.forename: Francisco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Reyes
authors.forename: Isabel
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Belinchón
authors.forename: Miguel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Górgolas
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005002:Ethiopia / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007918:Leprosy / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009437:Neuralgia / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D015995:Prevalence; D011788:Quality of Life; D012424:Rural Population; D012892:Sleep Deprivation / Q000209:etiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Ethiopia; Leprosy,; Neuropathic pain,; Quality of life,