[Assessment of chronic pain as a disability in patients with spinal cord injuries]. / Evaluation fonctionnelle de la douleur chronique chez le patient blessé médullaire.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate pain and its impact on daily life activities in patients with spinal cord injuries. METHODS: Patients with chronic pain associated with spinal cord injuries were mailed 2 questionnaires: the multidimensional pain inventory for spinal cord injury, which includes a visual numeric scale for pain; and the quality of life questionnaire SF-36. RESULTS: Twenty-two of the 28 patients (women 9, men 19) who were mailed the questionnaires responded. The location of pain was, in decreasing order: lower limbs, upper limbs, trunk. The clinical type of pain was usually neuropathic, and the mean pain intensity was 7.2+/-2.16. Eleven patients experienced sleep disturbances. In 17 patients, daily activities were limited because of pain (not counting 2 patients who were unable to answer because of hospitalization). Among 6 working patients (of 22), 5 experienced limitations in their job because of pain. SF-36 scores, which reflect psychological and physical health, were well below those of the general population. DISCUSSION-CONCLUSION: Despite the small size of our population and lack of a French-language validation of the questionnaire, these preliminary results point out the important interference of chronic pain in functional autonomy and quality of life in patients with spinal cord injuries.