FRIDAY, April 5 (HealthDay News) -- About 10 percent of patients develop chronic pain syndromes post-stroke, and these patients are more likely to have increased functional dependence and cognitive decline, according to research published online April 4 in Stroke.
Martin J. O'Donnell, M.B., Ph.D., of McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, and colleagues analyzed data from the Prevention Regimen for Effectively avoiding Second Stroke (PRoFESS) study to determine the prevalence, risk factors, and clinical consequences of chronic pain syndromes post stroke.
According to the researchers, among the 15,754 participants, 1,665 (10.6 percent) participants reported new chronic pain post-stroke. Among those with new chronic pain, the subtypes were central pain (2.6 percent), peripheral neuropathic pain (2.5 percent), peripheral neuropathic pain (1.3 percent), spasticity (1.3 percent), and shoulder subluxation (0.9 percent). Various risk factors were identified to be associated with chronic pain syndromes post-stroke. Participants with chronic pain syndromes post-stroke were more likely to be disable/dependent at follow-up (odds ratio, 2.16; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.82 to 2.56). Peripheral neuropathy and pain from spasticity/shoulder subluxation were associated with cognitive decline post-stroke.
"In conclusion, chronic pain syndromes are common after ischemic stroke, and associated with cognitive decline and increased functional dependence. Clinical trials, designed to prevent post-stroke pain syndromes, would seem to be an obvious target of future clinical research," the authors write.
Several authors disclosed financial relationships with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.
Abstract
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