Pain clinic in the age of ICD-11―Learning from the new chronic pain classification developed by International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP)

Abstract

On January 1st, 2022, International Classification of Diseases 11th revision (ICD-11), which for the first time added codes for the classification of chronic pain, will come into effect. This systematic classification of chronic pain was developed by the task force of the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP), where chronic pain is defined as pain that persists or recurs for more than three months and divided into chronic primary pain and chronic secondary pain. The latter chronic secondary pain is pain caused by underlying illness or tissue damage and is further divided into six categories according to the mechanisms and body parts. The IASP classification reflects pain concepts based on recent new scientific findings on chronic pain and is expected to bring about significant advances in the management of chronic pain. ICD-11 browser in the website of World Health Organization is also useful as a clinical tool for diagnosing chronic pain.