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Assessment of the clinical relevance of quantitative sensory testing with Von Frey monofilaments in patients with allodynia and neuropathic pain. A pilot study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 August 2007

D. Keizer ,
M. van Wijhe ,
W. J. Post ,
D. R. A. Uges  and
J. M. K. H. Wierda
D. Keizer*
Affiliation:
University Medical Center Groningen, Pain Management Center, Department of Anesthesiology, The Netherlands
M. van Wijhe
Affiliation:
University Medical Center Groningen, Pain Management Center, Department of Anesthesiology, The Netherlands
W. J. Post
Affiliation:
Office for Medical Technology Assessment
D. R. A. Uges
Affiliation:
Department of Pharmacy, The Netherlands
J. M. K. H. Wierda
Affiliation:
University Medical Center Groningen, Pain Management Center, Department of Anesthesiology, The Netherlands
*
Correspondence to: Doeke Keizer, Department of Anesthesiology, Pain Management Center, University Medical Center Groningen, P. O. Box 30001,9700 RB Groningen, The Netherlands. E-mail: d.keizer@anest.umcg.nl; Tel:+31 050 3614886; Fax: +31 050 3619317
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Summary

Background

Allodynia is a common and disabling symptom in many patients with neuropathic pain. Whereas quantification of pain mostly depends on subjective pain reports, allodynia can also be measured objectively with quantitative sensory testing. In this pilot study, we investigated the clinical relevance of quantitative sensory testing with Von Frey monofilaments in patients with allodynia as a consequence of a neuropathic pain syndrome, by means of correlating subjective pain scores with pain thresholds obtained with quantitative sensory testing.

Methods

During a 4-week trial, we administered a cannabis extract to 17 patients with allodynia. We quantified the severity of the allodynia with Von Frey monofilaments before, during and after the patients finished the trial. We also asked the patients to rate their pain on a numeric rating scale at these three moments.

Results

We found that most of the effect of the cannabis occurred in the last 2 weeks of the trial. In this phase, we observed that the pain thresholds, as measured with Von Frey monofilaments, were inversely correlated with a decrease of the perceived pain intensity.

Conclusion

These preliminary findings indicate clinical relevance of quantitative sensory testing with Von Frey monofilaments in the quantification of allodynia in patients with neuropathic pain, although confirmation of our data is still required in further studies to position this method of quantitative sensory testing as a valuable tool, for example, in the evaluation of therapeutic interventions for neuropathic pain.

Keywords

ALLODYNIAVON FREY MONOFILAMENTSQSTNEUROPATHIC PAIN; CANNABIS
Type
Original Article
Information
European Journal of Anaesthesiology , Volume 24 , Issue 8 , August 2007 , pp. 658 - 663
Copyright
Copyright © European Society of Anaesthesiology 2007

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