Aim of the study: The aim of this study was to assess the validity and reliability of the Polish version of the Neuropathic Pain Questionnaire (NPQ-PL), and to compare it to other diagnostic tools.
Clinical rationale for the study: Neuropathic pain is a burdensome condition, of which the exact prevalence is difficult to estimate. During initial screening, pain questionnaires are helpful in alerting clinicians about the need for further evaluation.
Material and methods: The NPQ-PL has been developed following the guidelines for translation and cultural adaptation. A total of 140 patients with chronic pain (ChP), 90 with neuropathic pain (NP), and 50 with nociceptive pain (NoP), were enrolled into this study.
Results: The study group consisted of 60.71% women and 39.29% men; the mean age of patients (standard deviation, SD) was 53.22 years (15.81), and the average NPQ-PL score (SD) was 0.49 (1.27). Statistically significant relationships were found between higher age distribution and greater pain intensity in the NP group compared to the NoP group. There were also significant differences in pain levels between people of different ages, with the predominance in the elderly. Cronbach's alpha coefficient of the whole questionnaire was 0.85 and the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) for test-retest reliability was 0.635. Using receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, the area under the curve (AUC) was 0.97 and the best cut-off value was 0.002, which resulted in the highest sensitivity (93.3%) and specificity (96.0%).
Conclusions and clinical implications: The NPQ-PL is a valid tool for discriminating between neuropathic and nociceptive pain. It can be used by physicians of various disciplines when assessing patients with ChP of various origins.
Keywords: ageing; cross-cultural adaptation; neuropathic pain; neuropathic pain questionnaire; nociceptive pain.