Quantitative sensory tests (perceptual thresholds) in patients with spinal cord injury

This article was presented at the Premeeting Workshop on Outcome Measures at the American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) Annual Scientific Meeting in Dallas, Texas, in May 2005. The article summarizes preliminary findings of three quantitative sensory tests that were evaluated as part of the International Spinal Research Trust Clinical Initiative study: perceptual thresholds to electrical, vibration, and thermal stimulation. The results gathered so far suggest that the three tests are simple, reproducible, and applicable in a clinical setting. The tests seem to add resolution and sensitivity to the standard clinical testing and could be useful adjuncts in longitudinal monitoring of spinal cord injury for research purposes.