New-onset pain in the early phase and three months following stroke – data from a multicenter study

Figures & data

Figure 1 Illustration of patients assessed for pain at inclusion and three months after stroke.

Note: ^a Patients included before implementation of pain assessment at inclusion to the study.
Abbreviation: HADS, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale.

Table 1 Baseline characteristics of all patients, patients responding to pain questionnaire, and patients with new-onset pain three months after stroke

Characteristics	All patients n=390	Patients available for prevalence analysis n=142	Patients available for regression analysis n=245
Women, N (%)	201 (51.5)	71 (50)	113 (46.1)
Age (years)
Mean (SD)	76.8 (11.3)	73.9 (12.1)	74.4 (11.6)
Median (25–75 percentile)	79.0 (70.5–84.7)	77.3 (68.4–82.8)	76.6 (68.1–83.3)
Infarction, n (%)	334 (85.6)	119 (83.8)	213 (86.9)
Hemorrhage, n (%)	56 (14.4)	23 (16.2)	32 (13.1)
NIHSS
Mean (SD)	7.9 (7.7)	4.9 (4.7)	4.7 (4.6)
Median (25–75 percentile)	5.0 (2.0–12.0)	4.0 (2.0–6.3)	3.0 (2.0–6.0)
mRS at inclusion
Mean (SD)	3.6 (1.2)	3.3 (1.1)	3.1 (1.1)
Median (25–75 percentile)	4.0 (3.0–5.0)	3.0 (3.0–4.0)	3.0 (2.0–4.0)
Premorbid mRS
Mean (SD)	1.75 (1.22)	1.6 (1.1)	1.4 (1.0)
Median (25–75 percentile)	1.0 (1.0–3.0)	1.0 (1.0–2.0)	1.0 (1.0–2.0)
Comorbidity
Atrial fibrillation, n (%)	104 (28.7)a	30 (21.1)	54 (22.0)b
Previous stroke/TIA, n (%)	78 (21.5)a	32 (22.5)	48 (19.6)b
Dementia, n (%)	29 (8.0)a	3 (2.1)	6 (2.4)b
Heart attack, n (%)	63 (17.4)a	25 (17.6)	45 (18.4)b
Hypertension, n (%)	247 (68.2)a	104 (73.2)	158 (64.5)b

Notes:

a n=362;

b n=228.

Abbreviations: NIHSS, National Institute of Health Stroke Scale; mRS, modified Rankin Scale; TIA, transient ischemic attack.

Table 2 Prevalence and distribution of new-onset pain for patients with pain data at inclusion and three-month follow-up (n=142)

Pain at inclusion/three months later	Yes/Yes	Yes/No	No/Yes	No/No	P-valuea
All new-onset pain	4	10	27	101	0.005
Head/neck	1	6	6	128	1
Affected shoulder/arm/hand	0	0	13	129	0.0001
Unaffected shoulder/arm/hand	0	3	5	134	0.51
Affected leg/hip	0	0	13	129	0.0001
Unaffected leg/hip	0	1	7	134	0.039
Back	1	2	5	133	0.29
Chest	0	1	1	139	1
Abdomen	0	1	2	138	0.63

Notes: One patient did not report where the pain was located, and hence the total number of patients reporting distribution of pain was 141. Patients could report pain from more than one location.

a McNemar mid-P-test.

Table 3 Univariable and multivariable logistic regression with new-onset pain at three months after strokea as dependent variable, n=245

Variables	OR	95 % CI	P-value
Univariable regression
Female gender	2.67	1.39–5.14	0.003
Age (years)	0.98	0.95–1.0	0.104
NIHSS	1.08	1.02–1.15	0.015
Anxiety	1.18	1.08–1.18	<0.001
Depression	1.14	1.06–1.23	0.001
Multivariable regressionb
Female gender	2.63	1.29–5.35	0.008
Age (years)	0.97	0.94–1	0.042
NIHSS	1.08	1.01–1.15	0.020
Anxiety	1.13	1.01–1.27	0.030
Depression	1.04	0.94–1.16	0.45

Notes:

a Number of participants reporting new-onset pain at three-month followup: n=49.

b Each variable is adjusted for all other variables.

Abbreviation: NIHSS, National Institute of Health Stroke Scale.

Table 4 Description of how patients with new-onset pain three months after stroke reported pain to influence their lives

Question	Na	No or mild, n (%)	Moderate, n (%)	Severe, n (%)	Mean (SD)
Describe the pain you feel when you are not moving about.	47	21 (44.7)	18 (38.3)	8 (17.0)	3.9 (3.1)
Describe the pain you feel when you are moving about.	47	16 (34.0)	19 (40.4)	12 (25.5)	5.0 (3.0)
How much has the pain influenced daily activities during the last 24 hours?	47	23 (49.9)	19 (40.4)	5 (10.6)	3.7 (3.1)
How much has the pain influenced enjoyment of life for the last 24 hours?	43	20 (46.5)	14 (32.6)	9 (20.9)	3.9 (3.4)

Notes: No or mild: NRS 0–3, moderate: NRS 4–7, severe: NRS >7.

a Not all patients completed rating of the pain.

Abbreviation: NRS, Numeric Rating Scale.