Prevalence of Neuropathic Pain After Non-instrumented Lumbar Spinal Surgery

Comparison of the proportion of patients with a score ≥ 4 measured with the DN4 questionnaire one day before surgery and 12 months after surgery. The DN4 questionnaire (4-question neuropathic pain scale) is a diagnostic tool used to identify and assess neuropathic pain. The questionnaire aims to measure the presence of symptoms and signs commonly associated with neuropathic pain.

The questionnaire comprises 10 items:

• 7 items relate to the patient's description of his or her pain (burning, painful cold, electric shocks, tingling, numbness, itching).
• 3 items are based on the clinician's sensory examination, focusing on touch and pinprick hypoesthesia, as well as brush-induced allodynia.

The DN4 is scored out of 10 points. A score of 4 or more suggests the presence of neuropathic pain.

Proportion of patients with a DN4 score ≥ 4 at 1, 3 and 6 months post-operatively.

The DN4 questionnaire (4-question neuropathic pain scale) is a diagnostic tool used to identify and assess neuropathic pain. The questionnaire aims to measure the presence of symptoms and signs commonly associated with neuropathic pain.

The questionnaire comprises 10 items:

• 7 items relate to the patient's description of his or her pain (burning, painful cold, electric shocks, tingling, numbness, itching).
• 3 items are based on the clinician's sensory examination, focusing on touch and pinprick hypoesthesia, as well as brush-induced allodynia.

Global pain is measured using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS). The VAS is one of a number of pain assessment scales. Using a ruler, the score is determined by measuring the distance in mm on a 10 cm line between the "no pain" reference point and the patient's mark, giving a range of scores from 0 to 100. A higher score indicates greater pain intensity.

The Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) is used to measure a patient's permanent functional disability. The ODI consists of 10 questions, scored from 0 to 5 (minimum to maximum). The total points for each section are added together, divided by the total possible points for all completed sections, and multiplied by 100 to create a disability percentage from 0 to 100%. A high percentage indicates significant disability.

The EuroQoL-5D-5L (EQ-5D-5L) self-administered questionnaire comprises 2 pages: one page with the 5-dimensional questionnaire EQ-5D and the visual analog quality-of-life scale EQ VAS. The EQ-5D explores the following 5 dimensions: mobility, personal care, usual activities, pain/discomfort and anxiety/depression. Each dimension has five levels: no problems, mild problems, moderate problems, severe problems and extreme problems. Patients are asked to indicate their state of health by ticking the box corresponding to the most appropriate statement in each of the five dimensions. The level chosen for each dimension corresponds to 1 number from 1 to 5 (1 = no problems, 5 = extreme problems).

The VAS EQ records the patient's self-assessment of health status on a vertical visual analogue scale, the ends of which are entitled "The best health you can imagine" and "The worst health you can imagine". The VAS can be used as a quantitative measure of health status.