[Treatment of neuropathic pain in neurology units. The PREVADOL study]

Neuropathic pain (NPP) is defined as a pain started or caused by an injury to or dysfunction of the nervous system. Its treatment is different to that of nociceptive pain since it does not respond to conventional analgesics or non-steroidal antiinflammatory drugs.

To describe the treatment being received by patients with NPP in the daily clinical practice of the specialist in neurology.

An observational, epidemiological, cross-sectional study was conducted in 36 neurology units (24 extra-hospital and 12 belonging to hospitals). We collected the clinical data and the treatment administered to the first 20 patients with NPP to visit the neurology units over a period of 20 consecutive working days.

Data were collected for a total of 451 patients with NPP. The pharmacological groups most frequently used in patients with NPP attended in neurology units are antiepileptics (71%) and antidepressants (15%). Of these patients, 60% were being treated with a single drug (an antiepileptic agent in 84.5% of cases; antidepressants in 10.3%). Two pharmacological treatments were being received by 23.7%, and 2.3% of patients were given treatment involving three or more pharmacological agents. A total of 30% received non-pharmacological treatments, especially physiotherapy (50.4%).

Most patients with NPP attended in neurology units follow first-order pharmacological treatments (antiepileptics or antidepressants). Over half the patients are controlled with monotherapy, usually with an antiepileptic agent. Non-pharmacological treatments (especially physiotherapy) are used in a third of the patients.