The level of evidence for PMPs varied across different test procedures in different types of PJP .
H and -held pressure algometry is the only test procedure that showed moderate positive evidence of intrarater reliability , agreement , and responsiveness , simultaneously , when it was investigated in patients with chronic knee osteoarthritis .
BACKGROUND Test procedures that were developed to assess somatosensory abnormalities should possess optimal psychometric properties ( PMPs ) to be used in clinical practice .
The aim of this systematic review was to evaluate the literature to assess the level of evidence for PMPs of test procedures investigated in individuals with peripheral joint pain ( PJP ) .
Test–retest and interobserver reliability of quantitative sensory testing according to the protocol of the German Research Network on Neuropathic Pain (DFNS): A multi-centre study
& NA ; Quantitative sensory testing ( QST ) is an instrument to assess positive and negative sensory signs , helping to identify mechanisms underlying pathologic pain conditions . In this study , we evaluated the test – retest reliability ( TR‐R ) and the interobserver reliability ( IO‐R ) of QST in patients with sensory disturbances of different etiologies . In 4 centres , 60 patients ( 37 male and 23 female , 56.4 ± 1.9 years ) with lesions or diseases of the somatosensory system were included .  QST comprised 13 parameters including detection and pain thresholds for thermal and mechanical stimuli .  QST was performed in the clinical ly most affected test area and a less or unaffected control area in a morning and an afternoon session on 2 consecutive days by examiner pairs ( 4 QSTs/patient ) . For both , TR‐R and IO‐R , there were high correlations ( r = 0.80–0.93 ) at the affected test area , except for wind‐up ratio ( TR‐R : r = 0.67 ; IO‐R : r = 0.56 ) and paradoxical heat sensations ( TR‐R : r = 0.35 ; IO‐R : r = 0.44 ) . Mean IO‐R ( r = 0.83 , 31 % unexplained variance ) was slightly lower than TR‐R ( r = 0.86 , 26 % unexplained variance , P < .05 ) ; the difference in variance amounted to 5 % . There were no differences between study centres . In a subgroup with an unaffected control area ( n = 43 ) , reliabilities were significantly better in the test area ( TR‐R : r = 0.86 ; IO‐R : r = 0.83 ) than in the control area ( TR‐R : r = 0.79 ; IO‐R : r = 0.71 , each P < .01 ) , suggesting that disease‐related systematic variance enhances reliability of QST . We conclude that st and ardized QST performed by trained examiners is a valuable diagnostic instrument with good test – retest and interobserver reliability within 2 days . With st and ardized training , observer bias is much lower than r and om variance . Quantitative sensory testing performed by trained examiners is a valuable diagnostic instrument with good interobserver and test – retest reliability for use in patients with sensory disturbances of different etiologies to help identify mechanisms of neuropathic and non‐neuropathic pain
The level of evidence for PMPs varied across different test procedures in different types of PJP .
H and -held pressure algometry is the only test procedure that showed moderate positive evidence of intrarater reliability , agreement , and responsiveness , simultaneously , when it was investigated in patients with chronic knee osteoarthritis .
BACKGROUND Test procedures that were developed to assess somatosensory abnormalities should possess optimal psychometric properties ( PMPs ) to be used in clinical practice .
The aim of this systematic review was to evaluate the literature to assess the level of evidence for PMPs of test procedures investigated in individuals with peripheral joint pain ( PJP ) .