Arch Rehabil Res Clin Transl . Neuropathic pain in hospitalized COVID-19 patients: A prospective case-series

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Arch Rehabil Res Clin Transl


. 2022 Feb 27;100188.
doi: 10.1016/j.arrct.2022.100188. Online ahead of print.
Neuropathic pain in hospitalized COVID-19 patients: A prospective case-series


Debasish Jena ¹ , Jagannatha Sahoo ¹ , Apurba Barman ¹ , Anchal Dalai ² , Suman Patel ¹



Affiliations

• PMID: 35252833
• PMCID: PMC8882261
• DOI: 10.1016/j.arrct.2022.100188

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this study was to report the demographic and clinical characteristics of eight hospitalized cases of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) presenting with neuropathic pain (NeuP).
Design: A prospective case series with one month follow-up.
Settings: COVID-19 dedicated wards of a tertiary care center.
Participants: We included eight consecutive cases of laboratory confirmed cases of COVID-19 (by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction) who presented with NeuP during the course of their acute hospitalization.
Interventions: Not Applicable.
Main outcome measures: Verbal Rating Scale (VRS) was used to assess NeuP severity at presentation and at one month follow-up. Douleur Neuropathique (DN4) questionnaire was used to diagnose NeuP at presentation.
Results: Most patients were diagnosed as moderate to severe COVID-19 (6/8) and presented with mild to moderate NeuP (6/8). A substantial proportion of the patients (4/8) displayed persistence of mild pain symptoms at one month follow-up. Furthermore, participants displayed a favourable response to gabapentinoids with or without antidepressants.
Conclusion: NeuP is a less commonly encountered symptom of COVID-19 but its early diagnosis and prompt management is of utmost importance. More studies including a larger cohort and longer follow-up are recommended for better understanding of COVID-19 associated NeuP.

Keywords: COVID19; Coronavirus Disease 2019; Neuralgia; Neuropathic pain; Pain.