Shedding light on neuropathic pain: Current and emerging tools for diagnosis, screening, and quantification

Abstract

Ensuring the proper management of neuropathic pain is a contemporary challenge for professionals who care for patients with this type of pain. The estimated prevalence of neuropathic pain in Europe is 7%–8%. The objective of this study was to perform a non-systematic review on the diagnosis, screening, and quantification of neuropathic pain. For this purpose, a search was conducted of the PubMed/Medline, ScienceDirect, OVID, and SciELO databases for available evidence. The findings highlight the common occurrence of chronic neuropathic pain in clinical practice. However, diagnosing and managing this type of pain pose challenges due to its complexity and the individualized nature of cases. Precise diagnosis is crucial for effective management, involving therapeutic approaches that go beyond traditional pain treatments. It is noteworthy that until recent times, general questionnaires were utilized to assess neuropathic pain, lacking the ability to distinguish it from nociceptive pain or evaluate its broader impact on well-being. Biomarker pain panels hold promise in identifying treatable pain causes and evaluating treatment effectiveness. In conclusion, this review describes the diagnostic methods and tools for screening and quantifying neuropathic pain.