Background. The aim of this report was to evaluate the clinical profile and previous management of patients with uncontrolled neuropathic pain who were referred to pain clinics. Methods. We included adult patients with uncontrolled pain who had a score of ≥4 in the DN4 questionnaire. In addition to sociodemographic and clinical data, we evaluated pain levels using a visual analog scale as well as anxiety, depression, sleep, disability, and treatment satisfaction employing validated tools. Results. A total of 755 patients were included in the study. The patients were predominantly referred to pain clinics by traumatologists (34.3%) and primary care physicians (16.7%). The most common diagnoses were radiculopathy (43%) and pain of oncological origin (14.3%). The major cause for uncontrolled pain was suboptimal treatment (88%). Fifty-three percent of the patients were depressed, 43% had clinical anxiety, 50% rated their overall health as bad or very bad, and 45% noted that their disease was severely or extremely interfering with their daily activities. Conclusions. Our results showed that uncontrolled neuropathic pain is a common phenomenon among the specialties that address these clinical entities and, regardless of its etiology, uncontrolled pain is associated with a dramatic impact on patient well-being.

ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to investigate the impact of pregabalin on pain, other symptoms, and patient-reported outcomes for patients with uncontrolled pain who have been referred to pain clinics.Patients and MethodsAdult patients with uncontrolled pain who had a score of ≥4 in the DN4 questionnaire were evaluated at baseline, month 3, and month 6. Evaluations included pain levels using a visual analog (VAS) scale as well as anxiety, depression, sleep, disability, and treatment satisfaction employing validated tools.ResultsOur sample comprised 413 patients who met the selection criteria, had not received pregabalin previously, and were prescribed pregabalin at the study initiation, mainly (97 %) as add-on therapy. Overall, patients had a statistically significant reduction in VAS pain score of 41 points (54 % reduction, p < 0.001), varying from 64 % reduction (oncological pain) to 31 % reduction (central neuropathic pain). Effect sizes for anxiety, depression, sleep, and treatment satisfaction improvement were moderate to large depending on the dimension and clinical entity.ConclusionOur results suggest that in patients with uncontrolled neuropathic pain of various origins who were treated at pain clinics, the addition of pregabalin to a wider pharmacological treatment regimen was associated with a clinically relevant improvement of pain and psychological well-being and a reduction in the impact of neuropathic pain on daily activities. Add-on treatment with pregabalin was well tolerated.