Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37815822›Full record

ArticlePain medicine (Malden, Mass.)2024

Altered pain processing and sensitization in sickle cell disease: a scoping review of quantitative sensory testing findings.

Martha O Kenney, Mitchell R Knisely, Lakeya S McGill, Claudia Campbell

Open access · greenAbstract readScoping Review
In one paragraph

Article in Pain medicine (Malden, Mass.), 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
2.0field-weighted citation impact, top 12% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 7 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Review
  2. Article
  3. Chronic pain in the aging adult with sickle cell disease.Frontiers in pain research (Lausanne, Switzerland) · 2026
    Review
  4. Association of COMT rs4680 Genotype With Chronic Neuropathic Pain Experience in Patients With Sickle Cell Disease.Pain management nursing : official journal of the American Society of Pain Management Nurses · 2025
    Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Martha O KenneyDivision of Pediatric Anesthesiology, Department of Anesthesiology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27710, United States.ORCID 0000-0002-0079-2488
Mitchell R KniselyDuke University School of Nursing, Durham, NC 27710, United States.
Lakeya S McGillDepartment of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, United States.
Claudia CampbellDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, United States.ORCID 0000-0002-5420-4207
Duke University · USJohns Hopkins University · US

Funding

University of Michigan (UM) HEAL Initiative National K12 Clinical Pain Career Development Program (UM-HCPDP)K12NS130673 · NINDS · UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR · PI Daniel J Clauw, Steven Edward Harte · 2022 to 2026
$12.5M
Predictors of Pain Severity and Pain-Related Outcomes in Individuals with Sickle Cell DiseaseK01HL169339 · NHLBI · DUKE UNIVERSITY · PI KENNEY, MARTHA OBENG · 2023 to 2024
$271k
NHLBI NIH HHS K01 HL169339NINDS NIH HHS K12 NS130673
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesOver 50% of adults living with sickle cell disease (SCD) have chronic pain, but the underlying mechanisms of chronic pain in this population remain unclear. Quantitative sensory testing is an important measurement tool for understanding pain and sensory processing. This scoping review summarizes quantitative sensory testing methodologies used in sickle cell studies and the evidence for central sensitization in this population.

methodsWe conducted a systematic search of PubMed, Embase, and CINAHL to identify studies using quantitative sensory testing in individuals living with sickle cell disease. Search strategies were based on variations of the terms "sickle cell disease," and "quantitative sensory testing." Eligible studies were observational or experimental studies in human participants living with SCD that reported findings and detailed methodology for at least 1 quantitative sensory testing modality.

resultsOur search yielded a total of 274 records; 27 of which are included in this scoping review. Of the 27 studies, 17 were original studies (with combined total of 516 adult and 298 pediatric participants), and 10 were secondary or subgroup analyses of these prior studies. Significant variation existed in quantitative sensory testing methodologies across studies, including testing locations, type and intensity of stimuli, and interpretation of findings. Of the identified studies, 22% (2/9 studies) reported sensory abnormalities in mechanical sensitivity and thresholds, 22% (2/9 studies) reported abnormal pressure pain thresholds, 46% (6/13 studies) reported sensory abnormalities in thermal pain thresholds and tolerance (cold and warm), and 50% (2/4 studies) reported abnormalities in temporal summation.

conclusionFuture studies should use standardized quantitative sensory testing protocols with consistent and operationalized definitions of sensitization to provide clear insight about pain processing and central sensitization in sickle cell disease.

Indexed as

Anemia, Sickle CellChronic PainAdultCentral Nervous System SensitizationChildHumansPain MeasurementPain Thresholdcentral sensitizationchronic painquantitative sensory testingsickle cell disease

Identifiers

PMID37815822
PMCPMC11494381
OpenAlexW4387473488

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.