Trigeminal neuralgia (TN) is an uncommon neuropathic disorder characterized by debilitating episodic facial pain. The International Association for the Study of Pain defines TN as “sudden, usually unilateral, severe, brief, stabbing, recurrent episodes of pain in the distribution of one or more branches of the trigeminal nerve.' Historically, TN has been called the “suicide disease” because of the severe pain associated with the condition.
Excruciating pain severity is considered intractable or difficult to treat and can be triggered by normal activities, such as talking, chewing, and swallowing. The impact of pain on patients with TN includes a decreased quality of life and impaired daily functioning, which indicates that TN pain is a substantial burden to patients.The disease burden may result from suboptimal management strategies, complications from treatments, and resistance of TN to treatment. Therefore, in assessing the success of treatment, measuring impact on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is an important end point.