Neuropathic pain : a case-based approach to practical management

Neuropathic pain is one of the most common, debilitating, and costly types of chronic pain characterized by a lesion or disease of the somatosensory nervous system. It is also the most difficult to treat. Managing neuropathic pain is challenging and requires skillful assessment, as well as comprehensive and integrated treatment strategies that are mechanism guided, evidence-based, and individualized. Research on these critical and integral elements of treatment is fragmented in current literature. The mechanistic understanding of neuropathic pain is typically found in basic research articles. Clinical research evidence is presented in clinical trials with emphasis on minimizing biases such as those from patient selection and assessment. Individualized considerations for patients are usually presented in case reports and problem-based learning discussions. This book overcomes these barriers, integrating all the critical elements around individual patient care into a coherent management strategy that is practical and applicable to daily clinical practice. Rather than compiling what has been published in the literature, this work identifies and highlights the key points or findings that guide decision-making in clinical practice. It integrates these key points around a typical case scenario that not only represents the core of the diagnostic and therapeutic processes, but also offers an introduction to and differentiation of painful conditions that bear similarities to the case at hand. The overarching goal of the book is to improve clinical outcomes through better understanding of the mechanisms of neuropathic pain, more accurate diagnosis of it, and wiser and more comprehensive treatment strategies