TY - JOUR
T1 - Low prevalence of neuropathic-like pain symptoms in long-term controlled acromegaly
AU - van Trigt, Victoria R.
AU - Pelsma, Iris C. M.
AU - Kroon, Herman M.
AU - Pereira, Alberto M.
AU - van der Meulen, Coen
AU - Kloppenburg, Margreet
AU - Biermasz, Nienke R.
AU - Claessen, Kim M. J. A.
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2021, The Author(s).
PY - 2022/4
Y1 - 2022/4
N2 - Purpose: Pain is a common symptom of acromegaly, impairing health-related quality of life (HR-QoL) significantly despite long-term disease remission. Neuropathic-like pain (NP-like) symptoms are invalidating, with great impact on HR-QoL. Studies characterizing or investigating the etiology of pain in acromegaly are scarce. Therefore, we aimed to assess NP-like symptoms in a cohort of controlled acromegaly patients. Methods: Forty-four long-term controlled acromegaly patients (aged 62.6 ± 12.6 years; 56.8% female) were included in this cross-sectional study. NP-like symptoms were assessed using the validated painDETECT questionnaire. Patients were divided in three probability-based NP-like symptoms categories based on the total score (range 0–35): unlikely (≤ 12), indeterminate (13–18) and likely (≥ 19). HR-QoL (physical component score (PCS), and mental component score (MCS)), and self-reported pain were assessed using Short Form-36 (SF-36). Potential risk factors were determined using linear regression analyses. Results: Self-reported pain was reported by 35 patients (79.5%). Likely NP-like symptoms were present in 4/44 patients (9.1%), and indeterminate NP-like symptoms in 6/44 patients (13.6%). All patients with likely NP-like symptoms were female. Higher painDETECT scores were negatively associated with HR-QoL (PCS: r = − 0.46, P = 0.003; MCS: r = − 0.37, P = 0.018), and SF-36 pain scores (r = − 0.63, P < 0.0001). Female sex was a risk factor for NP-like symptoms. Conclusions: Pain was prevalent in controlled acromegaly patients, whereas NP-like symptoms were relatively infrequent, and only observed in females. NP-like symptoms were associated with lower HR-QoL in acromegaly. Since specific analgesic therapy is available, awareness for characterization, increased understanding, and clinical trials regarding neuropathic pain identification and treatment in acromegaly patients are warranted.
AB - Purpose: Pain is a common symptom of acromegaly, impairing health-related quality of life (HR-QoL) significantly despite long-term disease remission. Neuropathic-like pain (NP-like) symptoms are invalidating, with great impact on HR-QoL. Studies characterizing or investigating the etiology of pain in acromegaly are scarce. Therefore, we aimed to assess NP-like symptoms in a cohort of controlled acromegaly patients. Methods: Forty-four long-term controlled acromegaly patients (aged 62.6 ± 12.6 years; 56.8% female) were included in this cross-sectional study. NP-like symptoms were assessed using the validated painDETECT questionnaire. Patients were divided in three probability-based NP-like symptoms categories based on the total score (range 0–35): unlikely (≤ 12), indeterminate (13–18) and likely (≥ 19). HR-QoL (physical component score (PCS), and mental component score (MCS)), and self-reported pain were assessed using Short Form-36 (SF-36). Potential risk factors were determined using linear regression analyses. Results: Self-reported pain was reported by 35 patients (79.5%). Likely NP-like symptoms were present in 4/44 patients (9.1%), and indeterminate NP-like symptoms in 6/44 patients (13.6%). All patients with likely NP-like symptoms were female. Higher painDETECT scores were negatively associated with HR-QoL (PCS: r = − 0.46, P = 0.003; MCS: r = − 0.37, P = 0.018), and SF-36 pain scores (r = − 0.63, P < 0.0001). Female sex was a risk factor for NP-like symptoms. Conclusions: Pain was prevalent in controlled acromegaly patients, whereas NP-like symptoms were relatively infrequent, and only observed in females. NP-like symptoms were associated with lower HR-QoL in acromegaly. Since specific analgesic therapy is available, awareness for characterization, increased understanding, and clinical trials regarding neuropathic pain identification and treatment in acromegaly patients are warranted.
KW - Acromegaly
KW - GH/IGF-1
KW - HR-QoL
KW - Neuropathic pain
KW - Pain
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85117726962&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s11102-021-01190-z
DO - https://doi.org/10.1007/s11102-021-01190-z
M3 - Article
C2 - 34687408
SN - 1386-341X
VL - 25
SP - 229
EP - 237
JO - Pituitary
JF - Pituitary
IS - 2
ER -