OBJECTIVES: To analyze health and non-health resources utilization and derived costs of treating patients with refractory peripheral NeP followed in PCS under routine medical practice. METHODS: A 12-weeks cross-sectional and retrospective analysis was carried out in year 2006 in a whole-nation representative sample of PC centres. Men and women above 18 years, with chronic pain (6-month or more) due to peripheral NeP (diabetic neuropathy, post-herpetic neuralgia or trigeminal neuralgia), and refractory to, at least, one previous analgesic were included in the analysis. Health resources included all-type medical visits, hospitalizations, complementary test and pharmacological and non-pharmacological therapies. Non-health included wages loses due to loss-work-days equivalents (LWDE= absenteeism days + days working with reduced productivity due to pain). Pain severity was measured by McGill-pain scale. RESULTS: One-thousand-four-hundred-thirty-nine subjects [58.8% women, 59.5 (12.7) years] were analyzed: 783 (54%) with diabetic painful neuropathy (DPN), 486 (34%) with post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN), and 170 (12%) with trigeminal neuralgia (TN). Last-week mean pain severity was 70.8 (16.1) mm with 60.2% declaring the pain as severe or worst the day of collecting data. Previous mean (SD) number of drugs was 2.3 (1.3), with a 30.3% on one-drug only; 72% on NSAIDs, 43% on paracetamol, 36% on opiods, 23% on antiepileptics, and 11% on antidepressants. Quarterly mean LWDE was 37.5 (27.6) days. Medical visits average per trimester was 9.7 (7.6), with 4.4% declaring one-hospitalization. Quarterly total mean cost was €2689 (2236); €983 (1394) direct health cost and €1706 (1440) indirect cost. Cost and health resources utilization were not associated to aetiological cause of pain. CONCLUSION: In the primary care setting, health and non-health resources utilization under routine medical practice derived in substantial costs when treating the associated refractory pain to peripheral neuropathies due to diabetes, post-herpetic or trigeminal neuralgia. Two-thirds of the total costs were derived from non-health resources.