Prevalence of post-traumatic neuropathic pain after digital nerve repair and finger amputation

Post-traumatic neuropathic pain is a major factor affecting the quality of life after finger trauma and is reported with considerable variance in the literature. This can partially be attributed to the different methods of determining neuropathic pain. The Douleur Neuropathique 4 (DN4) has been validated to be a reliable and non-invasive tool to assess the presence of neuropathic pain. This study investigated the prevalence of neuropathic pain after finger amputation or digital nerve repair using the DN4 questionnaire.

Patients with finger amputation or digital nerve repair were identified between 2011 and 2018 at our institution. After a minimal follow-up of 12 months, the short form DN4 (S-DN4) was used to assess neuropathic pain.

A total of 120 patients were included: 50 patients with 91 digital amputations and 70 patients with 87 fingers with digital nerve repair. In the amputation group, 32% of the patients had pain, and 18% had neuropathic pain. In the digital nerve repair group, 38% of the patients had pain, and 14% had neuropathic pain. Secondly, of patient-, trauma-, and treatment-specific factors, only the time between trauma and surgery had a significant negative influence on the prevalence of neuropathic pain in patients with digital nerve repair.

This study shows that persistent pain and neuropathic pain are common after finger trauma with nerve damage. One of the significant prognostic factors in developing neuropathic pain is treatment delay between trauma and time of digital nerve repair, which is of major clinical relevance for surgical planning of these injuries.