title: Validation of a transient pain monitor in healthy volunteers.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Transient pain in humans is usually quantified using visual analog or numeric rating scales, but no assessment method has yet been validated in real time during such stimulation.
  
  
  METHODS
  To validate a transient pain monitor, healthy volunteers submitted to stimulations generated by a CO(2) laser at graded levels of stimulation were trained to close the dominant hand around a handgrip dynamometer as strongly as they felt the pain, and the signal was computerized.The parameters recorded for each response were the peak intensity, the area under the curve, and pain expressed on a visual analog scale as a control. The volunteers underwent a second session 1 week later to assess reproducibility.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The 3 parameters studied had a similar capacity to report the intensity of stimulation. The peak intensity showed many similarities with the visual analog scale, although a downward drift of the values throughout the session was observed. The area under the curve displayed a greater interindividual variability than other parameters, but it was better to assess low-intensity stimulation; a better fit for crossover designs was also suggested with the area under the curve.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study validates in human volunteers under a laser stimulation of skin the metrological properties of an electronic handgrip device to assess the intensity of transient punctuate pain (compared with visual analog scale). The transient pain monitor validated here should now be tested in the clinical context.
authors.affiliation: CHU Clermont-Ferrand, Centre de Pharmacologie Clinique(Inserm CIC 501), F-63003 Clermont-Ferrand Cedex 1, France. cduale@chu-clermontferrand.fr
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dualé
authors.forename: Nathalie
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Dalle
authors.forename: Jean-Michel
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Cardot
authors.forename: Alice
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.forename: Henri
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Boby
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Bigay
authors.forename: Claude
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dubray
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D006801:Humans; D054020:Lasers, Gas / Q000009:adverse effects; D008297:Male; D010146:Pain / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D010147:Pain Measurement / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards*; D055815:Young Adult