• Hanna Harno, Elena Haapaniemi, Jukka Putaala, Maija Haanpää, Jyrki P Mäkelä, Eija Kalso, and Turgut Tatlisumak.
• From the Departments of Neurology (H.H., E.H., J.P., T.T.), Neurosurgery (M.H.), and Anesthesiology (E.K.), and BioMag Laboratory, HUS Medical Imaging Center (J.P.M.), Helsinki University Central Hospital; and Etera Mutual Pension Insurance Company (M.H.), Helsinki, Finland. hanna.harno@hus.fi.
• Neurology. 2014 Sep 23;83(13):1147-54.

ObjectiveWe describe the frequency, duration, clinical characteristics, and radiologic correlates of central poststroke pain (CPSP) in young ischemic stroke survivors in a prospective study setting.MethodsA questionnaire of pain and sensory abnormalities and EQ-5D quality-of-life questionnaire were sent to all 824 surviving and eligible patients of the Helsinki Young Stroke Registry. Patients (n = 58) with suspected CPSP were invited to a clinical visit and filled in the PainDETECT, Brief Pain Inventory, and Beck Depression Inventory questionnaires.ResultsOf the included 824 patients, 49 had CPSP (5.9%), 246 patients (29.9%) had sensory abnormality without CPSP, and 529 patients (64.2%) had neither sensory abnormality nor CPSP. The median follow-up time from stroke was 8.5 years (interquartile range 5.0-12.1). Patients with CPSP had low quality of life compared to those with sensory abnormality without CPSP (p = 0.007) as well as to those with no sensory abnormality and no CPSP (p < 0.001). Forty (82%) of the patients with CPSP had concomitant other pain. CPSP was associated with moderate (p < 0.001) and severe (p < 0.001) stroke symptoms, but there was no difference in age at stroke onset or subtype of stroke according to the TOAST classification between the groups. Stroke localization was not correlated with CPSP.ConclusionsLate persistent CPSP was found in 5.9% of young stroke survivors and was associated with concomitant other pain, impaired quality of life, and moderate or severe stroke symptoms.© 2014 American Academy of Neurology.

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