Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38525884›Full record

ArticleEuropean journal of pain (London, England)2024

Reliability of a clinical sensory test battery in patients with spine-related leg and arm pain.

Cedric Bender, Sven Karstens, Fabian Muth, Georgios Baskozos, Annina B Schmid

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

Article in European journal of pain (London, England), 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
1.0field-weighted citation impact, top 26% 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

3 citing papers in PubMed, 3 citations in OpenAlex.

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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

5 authors at 4 institutions in 3 countries.

Cedric BenderSchool of Health Professions, Institute of Physiotherapy, Zurich University of Applied Sciences, Winterthur, Switzerland.ORCID 0000-0002-8874-1158
Sven KarstensDivision of Therapeutic Sciences, Department of Computer Science, Trier University of Applied Sciences, Trier, Germany.
Fabian MuthMEDIAN Vesalius-Klinik, Bad Rappenau, Germany.
Georgios BaskozosNuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
Annina B SchmidNuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.ORCID 0000-0001-7759-0211
University of Oxford · GBHelios Vogtland Klinikum Plauen · DETrier University of Applied Sciences · DEZHAW Zurich University of Applied Sciences · CH

Funding

Department of Health NIHR203311Wellcome Trust 202747Wellcome Trust 222101
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe current standard to evaluate the presence of somatosensory dysfunctions is quantitative sensory testing, but its clinical utility remains limited. Low-cost and time-efficient clinical sensory testing (CST) batteries have thus been developed. Recent studies show moderate to substantial reliability in populations with neuropathic pain. This study evaluates the inter- and intra-tester reliability of people with spine-related leg and arm pain, representing mixed pain mechanisms.

methodsFifty-three patients with spine-related leg (n = 41) and arm pain (n = 12) attended three CST sessions. The CST battery consisted of eleven tests, determining loss and gain of sensory nerve function. CST was performed by the same investigator twice and by an additional investigator to determine inter- and intra-tester reliability. Fleiss' (inter-tester) and Cohen's (intra-tester) kappa were calculated for dichotomized and intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) for continuous outcomes.

resultsFleiss' kappa varied among modalities from fair to substantial (κ = 0.23-0.66). Cold, warm, and vibration detection thresholds and cold and pressure pain thresholds reached kappa >0.4 (moderate to substantial reliability). Cohen's kappa ranged from moderate to substantial (κ = 0.45-0.66). The reliability of the windup ratio was poor (ICC <0.18).

conclusionCST modalities with moderate to substantial inter-tester reliability could be of benefit as a screening tool. The moderate to substantial intra-tester reliability for all sensory modalities (except windup ratio) supports their potential use in clinical practice and research to monitor somatosensory changes over time in patients with spine-related limb pain of mixed pain mechanisms. SIGNIFICANCE: We already know that most modalities of clinical sensory test (CST) batteries achieve moderate to substantial inter- and intra-tester reliability in populations with neuropathic pain. This study evaluates the reliability of a CST battery in populations with mixed pain mechanisms. We found inter-tester reliability varied from poor to substantial for sensory modalities, questioning the value of some CST modalities. The CST battery showed moderate to substantial intra-tester reliability, suggesting its usefulness to monitor sensory changes over time in this cohort.

Indexed as

ArmLegPain MeasurementAdultAgedFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedNeuralgiaPain ThresholdReproducibility of Results

Identifiers

PMID38525884
PMCPMC7616657
OpenAlexW4393159950

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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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.