Quantitative Sensory Testing in Pediatric Pain: Methods, Perspectives and Applications

Pain is a significant health issue for children across age groups and medical conditions. In fact, one in five Canadian children experience chronic pain, and two-thirds of these children will go on to experience chronic pain as adults. Unfortunately, the reasons why pain persists is unclear for many children. A better understanding of these reasons will help with the development of new treatments for children with pain. Quantitative Sensory Testing (QST) is an experimental method that is used to assess how individuals process different stimuli, such as pain. QST has been a helpful method in understanding the mechanisms behind chronic pain in adults. QST also holds promise as a tool in pediatric pain research to better understand the mechanisms behind persistent pain for children with various medical conditions. My presentation will provide an overview of QST methods and how they can be applied to pain research with children. In my presentation, I will also share new data on the mechanisms of pain processing in children with cancer. Finally, I will cover practical advice on the use of QST in children including ethical and safety considerations.