Development and validation of a Taiwan version of the ID Pain questionnaire (ID Pain-T)

Background: Neuropathic pain (NeP) is distinct from nociceptive pain and has different underlying mechanisms requiring specific treatment strategies. To aid diagnosis, self-administered screening questionnaires (such as ID Pain) have been developed to help physicians identify patients with NeP. The aim of this study was to develop and validate a translated ID Pain questionnaire for Taiwanese subjects (ID Pain-T).

Methods: ID Pain, a 6-item self-administered questionnaire, score ranged from -1 to 5, was translated from English into Mandarin Chinese using local terms and back-translated by an expert panel. A prospective, non-randomized, multi-center study was performed in four medical centers in Taiwan. Patients aged over 18 years with pain other than headache for more than 30 days in either neurology or pain clinic were prospectively recruited. They completed the ID Pain-T questionnaire themselves. The study investigators, blinded to the subjects' ID Pain-T scores, examined subjects using a standardized clinical and neurological diagnostic procedure. The ID Pain-T questionnaire scores were verified and validated.

Results: A total of 317 patients completed the study. Clinical diagnosis of NeP was given for 189 (60%) patients, mixed pain diagnosed in 7 (2%) patients, and nociceptive pain in 121 (38%) patients. The reliability and consistency of the ID Pain-T were acceptable, with a Cronbach's alpha value of 0.6. Statistical analysis of the ID Pain-T questionnaire calculated an optimal cut-off score of ≥2 for determining NeP with 77% sensitivity and 74% specificity for predicting NeP. Ordinary least squares regression analysis showed significant predictive accuracy of the ID Pain-T questionnaire for NeP (P < 0.0001). These results are comparable to other studies that have translated the ID Pain questionnaire into other languages.

Conclusion: This study provides evidence that the ID Pain-T questionnaire is a valid and reliable self-administered screening tool to identify NeP in Taiwanese patients.