Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38225959›Full record

ArticlePain reports2023

Pain associated with COVID-19 vaccination is unrelated to skin biopsy abnormalities.

Giulia Di Stefano, Pietro Falco, Eleonora Galosi, Gianfranco De Stefano, Giuseppe Di Pietro, Caterina Leone, Daniel Litewczuk, Lorenzo Tramontana, Stefano Strano, Andrea Truini

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Pain reports, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
0.7field-weighted citation impact, top 31% 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

1 citing paper in PubMed, 3 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. 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

10 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Giulia Di StefanoDepartment of Human Neuroscience, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy.
Pietro FalcoDepartment of Human Neuroscience, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy.
Eleonora GalosiDepartment of Human Neuroscience, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy.
Gianfranco De StefanoDepartment of Human Neuroscience, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy.
Giuseppe Di PietroDepartment of Human Neuroscience, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy.
Caterina LeoneDepartment of Human Neuroscience, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy.
Daniel LitewczukDepartment of Human Neuroscience, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy.
Lorenzo TramontanaDepartment of Human Neuroscience, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy.
Stefano StranoDipartimento Cuore e Grossi Vasi, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy.
Andrea TruiniDepartment of Human Neuroscience, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2630-7647
Sapienza University of Rome · IT

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Introduction: Previous clinical observations raised the possibility that COVID-19 vaccination might trigger a small-fibre neuropathy. Objectives: In this uncontrolled observational study, we aimed to identify small fibre damage in patients complaining of generalized sensory symptoms and pain after COVID-19 vaccination. Methods: We collected clinical data, including a questionnaire for assessing autonomic symptoms (Composite Autonomic Symptom Score-31), and investigated quantitative sensory testing (QST) and skin biopsy in 15 prospectively enrolled patients with generalized sensory symptoms and pain after COVID-19 vaccination. Nine patients complaining of orthostatic intolerance also underwent cardiovascular autonomic tests. Results: We found that all patients experienced widespread pain, and most of them (11 of 15) had a fibromyalgia syndrome. All patients had normal skin biopsy findings, and in the 9 patients with orthostatic intolerance, cardiovascular autonomic tests showed normal findings. Nevertheless, 5 patients had cold and warm detection abnormalities at the QST investigation. Conclusions: In our study, most patients complaining of generalized sensory symptoms and pain after COVID-19 vaccination had clinical and diagnostic test findings compatible with a fibromyalgia syndrome. Although the abnormal QST findings we found in 5 patients might be compatible with a small-fibre neuropathy, they should be cautiously interpreted given the psychophysical characteristics of this diagnostic test. Further larger controlled studies are needed to define precisely the association between small fibre damage and COVID-19 vaccination.

Indexed as

COVID-19 vaccinationFibromyalgiaQuantitative sensory testingSkin biopsySmall-fibre neuropathy

Identifiers

PMID38225959
PMCPMC10789449
OpenAlexW4385738206

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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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.