Table 3.
Summary of the main findings
| Reference | Stimulus | Pain measure | Site | Other variables | Outcome measure | Statistical analysis | Results (univariate analyses) | Conclusions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LeResche et al29 | Pressure Cold Mechanical CPM |
Pain threshold Pain magnitude rating Temporal summation Cold bath (CS) and heat pain (TS) |
Back and hand Hand Forearm Hand (CS) and forearm (TS) |
Age Sex |
Clinical significant pain measured by the Graded Chronic Pain Scale: “no” defined as grade 0 or 1; “yes” defined as grade II, III, IV | Univariate and multivariable logistic regression | Only PPT at the back and PPT at the thenar eminence were significantly associated with clinically significant pain at 4 months (P<0.5) | None of the QST measures were significant predictors of clinical significant pain at 4 months after controlling for patient age and sex |
| Mlekusch et al31 | Pressure Cold CPM |
Pain tolerance Pain tolerance (time to withdrawal) Cold bath (CS) and PPtol (TS) |
Toe Hand Hand (CS) and toe (TS) |
Pain severity and duration, age, sex, catastrophizing, depression, intake of opioids | Change score in average pain intensity over the last 24 hours measured by numeric rating scale (NRS11) | Univariate and multivariable linear regression | None of the QST variables showed an association with change score in pain severity at 1 year | None of the QST measures were significantly associated with change score in pain severity at 1 year in both the unadjusted and adjusted analyses |
| Nordeman et al30 | Pressure | Pain threshold | Trapezius, supraspinatus, gluteal, and knee bilaterally | Age, baseline work ability, walking test, hand grip strength, number of pain localizations, widespread pain, pain severity, fatigue, activity limitation, social support, risk of long-term disability, stress, anxiety, depression, general health status | work ability: “no” defined as full-time sick leave or full-time disability pension; “yes” defined as work or study, applying for work, parental leave, or part-time disability pension | Univariate and forward stepwise logistic regression | PPT was significantly associated with work ability at 2 years (P=0.018) | walking ability together with depression score and baseline work ability were significant predictors accounting for 51% of the variance in work ability at 2 years |
Abbreviations: PPT, pressure pain threshold; CPM, conditioned pain modulation; PPtol, pressure pain tolerance; CS, conditioning stimulus; TS, test stimulus; QST, quantitative sensory testing.