The following is a summary of “Quantitative sensory testing, psychological profiles and clinical pain in patients with psoriatic arthritis and hand osteoarthritis experiencing pain of at least moderate intensity,” published in the September 2023 issue of Pain by Vela et al.

Chronic pain is a key symptom of joint diseases. Researchers performed a retrospective study to compare quantitative sensory testing in patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA), hand osteoarthritis (hand-OA), and a pain-free control group, and between patients with and without concomitant fibromyalgia (cFM).

They evaluated all patients and pain-free controls using pressure pain thresholds (PPT), temporal summation of pain (TSP), conditioned pain modulation (CPM), and clinical pain intensities. Psychological distress was measured with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Pain Catastrophizing Scale, and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. Disability was obtained with the Health Assessment Questionnaire, and pain quality was examined with the painDETECT questionnaire. cFM was diagnosed using the revised 2016 ACR criteria.

The results showed that patients with hand-OA (n = 75) or PsA (n = 58) had lower PPTs and CPM, greater TSP, and higher scores of psychological distress (P<0.05) compared to controls (n = 20). Patients with cFM (58%) exhibited higher scores of depression (P=0.001), anxiety (P=0.004), catastrophizing (P=0.012), disability (P<0.001), higher painDETECT score (P=0.001), TSP (P=0.027), and reduced sleep quality (P=0.021) in comparison to patients without cFM.

Investigators concluded that patients with hand-OA, PsA, and cFM exhibited greater pain sensitization, psychological distress, and disability than pain-free individuals.

Source: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ejp.2183