• Margarida Barbosa, Michael I Bennett, Ramiro Verissimo, and Davide Carvalho.
• Chronic Pain Unit, Department of Anaesthesiology, Centro Hospitalar de São João, Porto, Portugal.
• Pain Pract. 2014 Sep 1; 14 (7): 620-4.

BackgroundChronic pain is a well-known phenomenon. The differential diagnosis between neuropathic and nociceptive pain syndromes is a challenge. Consequently, assessment instruments that can distinguish between these conditions in a standardized way are of the utmost importance. The Leeds Assessment of Neuropathic Symptoms and Signs (LANSS) is a screening tool developed to identify chronic neuropathic pain. The aim of this study was the Portuguese language translation, linguistic adaptation of the LANSS pain scale, its semantic validation, internal consistency, temporal stability, as well its validity and discriminative power.MethodsLANSS Portuguese version scale was applied to 165 consecutive patients attending the pain clinic: 103 fulfilled the clinical criteria for the diagnosis of pain of neuropathic origin and the remaining 62 fulfilled the criteria for nociceptive pain.ResultsThe scale proved to be an internally consistent (Cronbach's alpha = 0.78) and reliable instrument with good test-retest stability (r = 0.7; P < 0.001). However, its validity and specificity with a cutoff point of ≥ 12, for differentiating patients with neuropathic pain from those with non-neuropathic pain, had 89% sensitivity, 74% specificity, positive predictive value of 85%, and negative predictive value of 81%.ConclusionsThe Portuguese LANSS version pain scale properties lead us to the conclusion that such a cross-cultural version is a reliable and valid instrument for the differentiation of this type of pain. Its usage is recommended.© 2013 World Institute of Pain.

30 keywords...

hide…