Quantitative sensory testing (QST) - does assessing sense make sense?

PhD ceremony: Mr. K.H. Konopka, 11.00 uur, Academiegebouw, Broerstraat 5, Groningen

Dissertation: Quantitative sensory testing (QST) - does assessing sense make sense?

Promotor(s): prof. M.M.R.F. Struys, prof. G.J. Groen

Faculty: Medical Sciences

With the development of a standardized Quantitative Sensory Testing (QST) protocol by the German Research Network on Neuropathic Pain (DFNS), a methodology is available to investigate somatosensory function in patients with neuropathic pain and healthy volunteers (for reference data). This QST battery tests different sub-modalities of nerve fibres involved in the transduction of sensory information. In this thesis we investigated the applicability of QST in clinical practice and for research purposes. We demonstrated that QST can lead to an improved characterisation of sensory signs in unilateral neuropathic pain, an improved understanding of sensory function in patients with different neuropathic pain grades and an improved understanding of somatosensory function as a pain-contributing factor in patients with patellar tendinopathies. QST also allows the identification of homogenous patient populations which in subsequent studies could help to clarify the relationships between the aetiology and somatosensory function. The results of these studies contribute to a better understanding of sensory function in patients and indicate a great potential for QST as a research tool for clinical practice and drug development aiming for improvements in assay sensitivities.