Journal of neurotrauma
-
Journal of neurotrauma · May 2019
Meta AnalysisProgression of Neuropathic Pain after Acute Spinal Cord Injury: A Meta-Analysis and Framework for Clinical Trials.
The translation of therapeutic interventions to humans with spinal cord injury with the goal of promoting growth and repair in the central nervous system could, inadvertently, drive mechanisms associated with the development of neuropathic pain. A framework is needed to evaluate the probability that a therapeutic intervention for acute spinal cord injury modifies the progression of neuropathic pain. We analyzed a large, longitudinal dataset from the European Multi-Center Study about Spinal Cord Injury (EMSCI) and compared these observations with a previously published Swedish/Danish cohort. ⋯ Characteristics that were significantly associated with the progression of pain included age and sensory and motor preservation. We provide historical benchmarks for estimating the progression of neuropathic pain during the first year after acute SCI. This information will be useful for comparison and evaluating safety during early phase acute spinal cord injury trials.