Instituut voor Neuropathische Pijn

Home

Treatment neuropathic pain insufficient

There are many people in the Netherlands suffering from neuropathic pains, almost 1% of our entire population and nearly 150,000 new patients each year! There are a number of centers in the Netherlands where there is adequate expertise in the field of diagnosis of neuropathy. But treatment of neuropathic pain remains difficult. And this is our specialty.

You have to live with it...

Patients with neuropathy and neuropathic pain are often told: "You just have to learn to live." And patients are also not always well treated. ^[1] ^[2] ^[3] ^[4] And that's pretty shocking. More than 90% of patients with neuropathic pain in our country is not properly treated! ^[5] And the quality of life is often very low, even when used painkillers! ^[6] ^[7] ^[8]

Treatment can improve!

Also only 1 in 5 patients benefit from treatment by pain specialist teams. ^[9] The health problems of diabetic polyneuropathy patients are significantly higher than that of patients without polyneuropathy. ^[10] ^[11] Many reasons therefore to give extra attention to the patient with neuropathy and neuropathic pain. We try to develop innovative treatments, and present reports of our findings in the scientific literature! ^[12]

March, Jan M. Keppel Hesselink, MD, PhD and David J. Kopsky, MD

Referenties

[1]: Oster G, Berger A, Dukes E, Edelsberg J, McCarberg B. | Use of potentially inappropriate pain-related medications in older adults with painful neuropathic disorders. | Am J Geriatr Pharmacother. | 2004 Sep;2(3):163-70.

[2]: Gore M, Dukes E, Rowbotham DJ, Tai KS, Leslie D. | Clinical characteristics and pain management among patients with painful peripheral neuropathic disorders in general practice settings. | Eur J Pain. | 2007 Aug;11(6):652-64. Epub 2006 Nov 27.

[3]: Lachaine J, Gordon A, Choinière M, Collet JP, Dion D, Tarride JE. | Painful neuropathic disorders: an analysis of the Régie de l'Assurance Maladie du Québec database. | Pain Res Manag. | 2007 Spring;12(1):31-7.

[4]: Berger A, Toelle T, Sadosky A, Dukes E, Edelsberg J, Oster G. | Clinical and economic characteristics of patients with painful neuropathic disorders in Germany. | Pain Pract. | 2009 Jan-Feb;9(1):8-17. Epub 2008 Oct 8.

[5]: Dieleman JP, Kerklaan J, Huygen FJ, Bouma PA, Sturkenboom MC. | Incidence rates and treatment of neuropathic pain conditions in the general population. | Pain. | 2008 Jul 31;137(3):681-8. Epub 2008 Apr 24.

[6]: O'Connor AB. | Neuropathic pain: quality-of-life impact, costs and cost effectiveness of therapy. | Pharmacoeconomics. | 2009;27(2):95-112. doi: 10.2165/00019053-200927020-00002.

[7]: Hoffman DL, Sadosky A, Alvir J. | Cross-national burden of painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy in Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East. | Pain Pract. | 2009 Jan-Feb;9(1):35-42. Epub 2008 Oct 27.

[8]: Liedberg GM, Vrethem M. | Polyneuropathy, with and without neurogenic pain, and its impact on daily life activities--a descriptive study. | Disabil Rehabil. | 2009;31(17):1402-8.

[9]: Schulte E, Hermann K, Berghöfer A, Hagmeister H, Schuh-Hofer S, Schenk M, Kopf A, Vilain M, Martus P, Willich SN, Boemke W. | Referral practices in patients suffering from non-malignant chronic pain. | Eur J Pain. | 2010 Mar;14(3):308.e1-308.e10. Epub 2009 Jun 30.

[10]: Hartsfield CL, Korner EJ, Ellis JL, Raebel MA, Merenich J, Brandenburg N. | Painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy in a managed care setting: patient identification, prevalence estimates, and pharmacy utilization patterns. | Popul Health Manag. | 2008 Dec;11(6):317-28.

[11]: Ritzwoller DP, Ellis JL, Korner EJ, Hartsfield CL, Sadosky A. | Comorbidities, healthcare service utilization and costs for patients identified with painful DPN in a managed-care setting. | Curr Med Res Opin. | 2009 Jun;25(6):1319-28.

[12]: Kopsky DJ, Keppel Hesselink JM. | A new combination cream for the treatment of severe neuropathic pain. | J Pain Symptom Manage. | 2010 Feb;39(2):e9-e10.