Relationship Between Neuropathic Pain and Geriatric Assessment Parameters in Patients Aged 80 Years and Older

The presence of neuropathic pain will be assessed using the Douleur Neuropathique-4 (DN4) questionnaire. The DN4 consists of 10 items. The first 7 items evaluate the characteristics and sensory quality of pain, whereas the remaining 3 items are based on physical examination findings. A total score of 4 or higher is defined as the presence of neuropathic pain, while a score below 4 is defined as the absence of neuropathic pain.

Patients' pain intensity will be assessed using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS). In the VAS assessment, a 10-cm horizontal straight line will be used, where 0 indicates no pain and 10 indicates unbearable pain. Using the VAS, the average pain intensity during the last week will be recorded.

Mood status will be assessed using the short form of the Yesavage Geriatric Depression Scale. The short form consists of 15 questions to which patients respond with "yes" or "no." Scoring is based on the number of depressive responses, and the total score is used to determine the level of depression. Scores of 0-9 are considered "normal," scores of 10-19 indicate "mild depression," and scores of 20-30 indicate "severe depression.

The assessment of daily living activities will be assessed with the Lawton-Brody Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Scale (IADLS). IADLS consists of 8 questions that include information on using the telephone, preparing meals, shopping, doing daily housework, doing laundry, being able to get on a vehicle, being able to use medications, and managing money. 0-8 points are evaluated as "dependent," 9-16 points as "semi-dependent," and 17-24 points as "independent."

The assessment of daily living activities will be assessed with the the Barthel Index (BI) scale. BI consists of 10 questions that evaluate feeding, washing, self-care, dressing, defecation control, urinary control, going to the toilet, the ability to get from bed to a wheelchair, mobility status such as walking or being wheelchair dependent, and climbing stairs. 0-20 points are considered as completely dependent, 21-61 points as severely dependent, 62-90 points as moderately dependent, 91-99 points as slightly dependent, and 100 points as completely independent.

Neurocognitive assessment will be done with Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE). MMSE test is a short screening test with 11 questions and 30 points. MMSE is completed in approximately 10 minutes and evaluates orientation, memory, attention, calculation, recall, language, motor function and perception, visual-spatial abilities. 24-30 points is normal, 18-23 points is mild dementia, 17 and below is compatible with severe dementia.

Frailty will be assessed using the Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS). CFS is graded from 1 to 9. The higher the score, the greater the frailty.

Nutritional assessment will be evaluated with the Mini Nutritional Assessment questionnaire-short form (MNA-SF). MNA-SF consists of 5 subheadings; those with 12-14 points are considered "no risk of malnutrition", those with 8-11 points are considered "at risk of malnutrition" and those with 0-7 points are considered "malnourished".