Test-retest studies in quantitative sensory testing: a critical review

Quantitative sensory testing (QST) investigates the graded psychophysical response to controlled thermal, mechanical, electrical or chemical stimuli, allowing quantification of clinically relevant perception and pain thresholds. The methods are ubiquitously used in experimental and clinical pain research, and therefore, the need for uniform assessment procedures has been emphasised. However, varying consistency and transparency in the statistical methodology seem to occur in the QST literature. Sixteen publications, evaluating aspects of QST variability, from 2010 to 2012, were critically reviewed in detail. A considerable heterogeneity in the statistical evaluations of test-retest data was demonstrated. The authors, using a secondary analysis of published data for didactic purposes, propose and present minimal requirements for reporting of test-retest QST data.