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Validation of the Greek Version of the DN 4 Diagnostic Questionnaire for Neuropathic Pain
Author(s) -
Sykioti Panagiota,
Zis Panagiotis,
Vadalouca Athina,
Siafaka Ioanna,
Argyra Eriphili,
Bouhassira Didier,
Stavropoulou Evmorfia,
Karandreas Nikolaos
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
pain practice
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.899
H-Index - 58
eISSN - 1533-2500
pISSN - 1530-7085
DOI - 10.1111/papr.12221
Subject(s) - neuropathic pain , medicine , nociception , receiver operating characteristic , medical diagnosis , observational study , area under the curve , anesthesia , physical therapy , pathology , receptor
Background The Douleur Neuropathique 4 questionnaire ( DN 4) was developed by the French Neuropathic Pain Group and is a simple and objective tool, primarily designed to screen for neuropathic pain. The aim of our study is to validate the DN 4 in the Greek language. Methods The study was set up as a prospective observational study. Two pain specialists independently examined patients and diagnosed them with neuropathic, nociceptive, or mixed pain, according to the International Association for the Study of Pain ( IASP ) definitions. A third and a fourth physician administered the DN 4 questionnaire to the patients. Results Out of the 237 patients who met our inclusion criteria and had identical diagnoses regarding the type of pain, 123 were diagnosed with neuropathic, 59 with nociceptive, and 55 with mixed pain. Among patients with identical diagnoses of neuropathic or nociceptive pain, using a receiver operating characteristic ( ROC ) curve analysis, the area under the curve ( AUC ) was 0.92. A cutoff point of equal or greater than 4 resulted in a sensitivity of 93% and a specificity of 78%. Among patients suffering from pain with neuropathic element (neuropathic or mixed pain) or pain with no neuropathic element (nociceptive pain), using a ROC curve analysis, the AUC was 0.89. A cutoff point of equal or greater than 4 resulted in a sensitivity of 89% and a specificity of 78%. Conclusion The Greek version of DN 4 is a valid tool for discriminating between neuropathic and nociceptive pain conditions in daily practice.