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Pain ratings at the thresholds are necessary for interpretation of quantitative sensory testing
Author(s) -
Kelly Kiesa Getz,
Cook Thomas,
Backonja MishaMiroslav
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
muscle and nerve
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.025
H-Index - 145
eISSN - 1097-4598
pISSN - 0148-639X
DOI - 10.1002/mus.20355
Subject(s) - quantitative sensory testing , sensory system , noxious stimulus , sensory threshold , neuropathic pain , hyperalgesia , medicine , audiology , threshold of pain , nociception , cold pressor test , physical medicine and rehabilitation , neuroscience , psychology , anesthesia , cognitive psychology , heart rate , receptor , blood pressure
Published databases of quantitative sensory testing (QST) for sensory thresholds provide a means for detecting deficits of the thermonociceptive sensory nervous system. These databases, however, do not assist in the assessment of neuropathic pain, which is characterized by pain or hyperalgesia, or both. We utilized the method of levels for innocuous thermal stimuli, warm and cool, and the method of limits for noxious thermal stimuli, hot pain and cold pain, to determine QST thresholds. Stimuli were applied to distal and proximal sites in the upper and lower limbs of 50 healthy volunteers, ranging in age from 19 to 59 years. Thresholds for innocuous and noxious stimuli in this study were similar to previously published results. The mean pain rating across all sites at thresholds for noxious heat and cold stimuli was 4.10, as rated on a 0–10 numeric scale. Suggestions are provided for combining threshold information for innocuous and noxious stimuli and related pain ratings for the evaluation of sensory nervous system function and, specifically, neuropathic pain. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Muscle Nerve, 2005