The focus in chronic pain assessment differs from the evaluation of acute pain, which assumes a specific underlying injury or disease that treatment will cure. Begin chronic pain assessment with the history and physical examination. Important components of the initial evaluation are summarized in Table 3 and are detailed below.
While pain intensity scales are useful in assessing and treating acute pain, they have a limited role in assessing and treating chronic pain. While chronic pain intensity is important to assess, ten-point pain scales that assess only pain severity or intensity (including various single-item written or visual scales) do not adequately assess broader functional effects of chronic pain.
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Assess the degree of functional impairment to help determine the urgency for addressing the acute pain issue. For example, weakness may require a more aggressive strategy with early intervention, such as advanced imaging.
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Nociceptive pain is caused by tissue damage due to injury or inflammation, rather than harm to the central or peripheral nervous system. This is the primary type of pain involved in patients with arthritis, musculoskeletal inflammatory disorders (tendinosis, bursitis), or structural spine pain.
Fentanyl testing. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid and its metabolites are often missed in urine drug screens. GC/MS or LCMS are relatively good at detecting it and are reasonable confirmatory tests.
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Establishing the diagnosis of a specific chronic pain syndrome can be an important first step in providing clarity for the care team, psychoeducation for patients, and direction for treatment considerations. In order to arrive at a diagnosis, perform a thorough biopsychosocial assessment.
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To facilitate gathering information efficiently, use intake questionnaires or templates within the electronic health record. Consider how to involve clinical team members in the evaluation.
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