title: Comparison between the reliability levels of manual palpation and pressure pain threshold in children who reported orofacial pain.
abstract: The aim of this study was to compare the intra- and inter-rater reliability of pressure pain threshold (PPT) and manual palpation (MP) of orofacial structures in symptomatic and symptom-free children for temporomandibular disorders (TMD). Fourteen children reporting pain in masticatory muscles or the temporomandibular joint and 16 symptom-free children were randomly assessed on three different occasions: by rater-1 in the first and third session and by rater-2 in the second session. The trained raters applied algometry and MP as recommended by the Research Diagnostic Criteria for TMD. Intraclass correlation coefficients and the Kappa statistic were used to assess the levels of reliability of PPT and MP, respectively. Excellent intra- and inter-rater reliability levels were observed for PPT values at most of the examined sites for symptom-free children and excellent and moderate reliability levels for children reporting pain. For MP, moderate and poor intra-rater and inter-rater reliability levels were observed for most sites in both groups. Algometry showed higher reliability levels for both groups of children and is recommended for pain assessment in children in association with MP.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomechanics, Medicine and Rehabilitation of the Locomotor Apparatus, Ribeirão Preto School of Medicine, University of São Paulo-USP, Câmpus Universitário, CEP: 14049-900 Ribeirão Preto (SP) Brasil.
authors.forename: Thaís Cristina
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Chaves
authors.forename: Harumi Martins
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Nagamine
authors.forename: Letícia Mêlo
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: de Sousa
authors.forename: Anamaria Siriani
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: de Oliveira
authors.forename: Débora Bevilaqua
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Grossi
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D005157:Facial Pain / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008365:Manometry / Q000295:instrumentation; D008410:Masticatory Muscles / Q000503:physiopathology; D010147:Pain Measurement; D017288:Pain Threshold; D010173:Palpation; D011312:Pressure; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013705:Temporomandibular Joint Disorders / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology