1 Before you use it
What it is
Ten items — seven from the interview, three from a brief examination (touch hypoaesthesia, pinprick hypoaesthesia, and whether brushing provokes or increases pain).
It is the one neuropathic screen with an examination component, which makes it a better teaching tool than a pure questionnaire.
When to reach for it
Any radiating or nerve-related presentation — radicular pain, entrapments, post-traumatic pain that isn't behaving, CRPS screening.
Patterns it serves · 10
2 Giving it
Scoring
Ten yes/no items, one point each. A score of 4 or more is the conventional threshold. No verified accuracy figure is carried in our library and none is printed here.
A 7-item interview-only version (DN4-interview) exists.
What it doesn’t measure
Localise the lesion. A full neurological examination — power, reflexes, sensation, bilaterally — still has to happen.
3 Reading the score
Interpreting it
A screen, not a diagnosis. Higher scores indicate a greater likelihood of a neuropathic component.
Its examination items are worth doing regardless of the score — brush allodynia in particular is a finding students routinely miss.
Is the change real?
Student trap. Doing the seven interview items and skipping the three examination ones. The examination half is the part that teaches you something.
Official source: aci.health.nsw.gov.au. We don't host the form.
This is a learning tool. It does not diagnose patients and does not replace your clinical educator.
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CliniStudy is in beta. One tap is enough — it decides what gets fixed first.