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Survey on Sensory Processing Sensitivity in Chronic Pediatric Pain

NCT04171869 · Status: COMPLETED · Type: OBSERVATIONAL · Enrollment: 150

Last updated 2020-10-01

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Background: Pain is defined as an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience and in its chronic form, pain is highly prevalent, up to 25% of children and adolescents are affected by it. The exact etiology of many forms of chronic pain remains unknown. One mechanism that has been proposed to underlie increased pain sensitivity is central sensitization, i.e., increased efficacy of the nervous system in transmitting pain signals, which manifests itself as a lower pain threshold. A lower pain threshold in turn has been recognized as a risk factor for the development of chronic pain. Being more sensitive to pain is one feature commonly shared by those with high sensory processing sensitivity (SPS), who are thought to react more strongly to both positive and negative environmental influences. The relationship between this increased sensitivity and pain tolerance has not been studied to date, but could contribute to our understanding of why some children and adolescents are more vulnerable to developing chronic pain than others.

Objectives and Aims: The aim of this project is to increase scientific understanding of 1) the distribution and correlates of high SPS among children and adolescents suffering from chronic pain, and 2) whether the trait of SPS can help explain increased pain sensitivity and hence vulnerability for chronic pain.

Methods: To determine the distribution (aim 1a) and correlates (aim 1b) of SPS among a population of children and adolescents suffering from chronic pain, an online survey will be conducted. Participants will be asked to complete questionnaires about their SPS as well as pain history and pain characteristics. The distribution of SPS will then be compared to an existing distribution in a sample of healthy children and adolescents.

Conditions

Interventions

OTHER

no intervention

observational study, no intervention

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • University Hospital, Basel, Switzerland

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Helen Koechlin, PhD · University Hospital, Basel, Switzerland

Eligibility

Min Age
17 Years
Max Age
19 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2020-05-08
Primary Completion
2020-08-15
Completion
2020-09-30

Countries

  • Switzerland

Study Locations

More Related Trials

Entities

Diseases

Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT04171869 on ClinicalTrials.gov