Life with chronic pain during COVID-19 lockdown: the case of patients with small fibre neuropathy and chronic migraine
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COVID-19
Life with chronic pain during COVID-19 lockdown: the case of patients with small fibre neuropathy and chronic migraine Monica Consonni 1 & Alessandra Telesca 1 & Licia Grazzi 1 & Daniele Cazzato 2 & Giuseppe Lauria 1,3 Received: 20 October 2020 / Accepted: 5 November 2020 # The Author(s) 2020
Abstract Objective We aimed at investigating the impact of COVID-19-related distress on patients with chronic pain, highlighting the effects of changes in individual habits and public health care reconfiguration on physical and psychological health. Methods During the pandemic, 80 participants (25 patients with small fibre neuropathy (SFN), 42 patients with chronic migraine (CM) and 13 patients’ healthy family members (HFM)) were asked to evaluate their COVID-19 complains, changes in habits and clinical management, behaviour, mood, loneliness, quality of life (QoL), physical and mental health and coping strategies. Data were analysed by Spearman rho correlations and Mann-Whitney U tests. Results Patients had lower QoL, lower physical health and higher catastrophizing attitude towards pain than HFM. During the pandemic, SFN patients referred greater decline in clinical symptoms, worries about contagion and discomfort for disease management changes than CM patients. In the SFN group, the higher levels of disability were associated with suffering from changes in neurologist-patient relationship. CM patients complained of agitation/anxiety that was related to feelings of loneliness, depressive mood and catastrophism. Discussion Despite similar complains of change in habits and worries about COVID-19 pandemic, SFN and CM patients had distinct reactions. In SFN patients, pandemic distress impacted on physical health with worsening of clinical conditions, especially suffering from changes in their care. In CM patients, pandemic distress affected behaviour, mainly with psychological frailty. This suggests the need to customize public health care for patients with distinct chronic pain conditions. Keywords COVID-19 distress . Chronic migraine . Small fibre neuropathy . Catastrophism . Quality of life . Chronic pain
Introduction The outbreak of the new coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19) turned to become a sudden public health crisis that strongly influenced psychological and physical health of the general population [1, 2]. Across the world, people who have potentially come into contact with the infection were asked to stay at home or in dedicated quarantine facilities. Reports concerning the psychological effects of self-isolation during past
* Giuseppe Lauria [email protected] 1
Neuroalgology Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Via Celoria 11, 20133 Milan, Italy
2
Neurophysiology Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milan, Italy
3
Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences “Luigi Sacco”, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
epidemics and pandemics (e.g. SARS, Ebola) confirmed that quarantined people had higher level of distress including posttraumatic str
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