Reliability and Validity of the Boston Bedside Quantitative Sensory Testing Battery for Neuropathic Pain

Abstract Objective Recent studies suggest that sensory phenotyping may provide critical information for the diagnosis and management of patients with chronic neuropathic pain (NP). However, many formal quantitative sensory testing (QST) paradigms require expensive equipment, a dedicated location, an...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Pain medicine (Malden, Mass.) Mass.), 2020-10, Vol.21 (10), p.2336-2347
Main Authors: Koulouris, Alexandra E, Edwards, Robert R, Dorado, Kathleen, Schreiber, Kristin L, Lazaridou, Asimina, Rajan, Sharika, White, Jeffrey, Garcia, Jenniffer, Gibbons, Christopher, Freeman, Roy
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Boston
Chronic pain
Diagnosis
Editor's Choice
Evaluation
Health surveys
Humans
Laboratories
Neuralgia
Neuralgia - diagnosis
Neurology
Neuropathic Pain Section
Pain
Pain Measurement
Pain Threshold
Phenotyping
Reproducibility of Results
Statistical analysis
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Summary:Abstract Objective Recent studies suggest that sensory phenotyping may provide critical information for the diagnosis and management of patients with chronic neuropathic pain (NP). However, many formal quantitative sensory testing (QST) paradigms require expensive equipment, a dedicated location, and substantial time commitments on the part of patient and examiner, highlighting the need for a convenient and portable “bedside” QST battery. We developed and tested a bedside QST battery in a sample of patients with chronic NP. Methods Participants (N = 51) attended two in-person visits over approximately two weeks, during which they underwent QST using both laboratory-based equipment and simple, easily accessible bedside tools. Participants also completed questionnaires about their daily pain and NP symptoms. Results Test–retest reliability estimates were highly statistically significant and did not differ between bedside (mean r = 0.60) and laboratory-based (mean r = 0.72) QST. Bedside QST variables and corresponding laboratory-based QST variables were highly correlated, suggesting adequate criterion validity for the bedside tests. Conclusions Results from the present study may have important implications for the sensory phenotyping and subsequent management of patients with chronic NP. Implementation of a protocol that uses inexpensive, portable, and convenient tools may allow for the application of QST in variety of clinical settings and advance NP research.
ISSN:1526-2375
1526-4637
DOI:10.1093/pm/pnaa192