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Exploring Non-Invasive Salivary Biomarkers for Acute Pain Diagnostics: A Comprehensive Review
Laura Stendelyte1, Mantas Malinauskas2, Dovile Evalda Grinkeviciute3
1Faculty of Medicine, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, LT-44307 Kaunas, Lithuania.
Insights
Non-invasive salivary biomarkers like cortisol show promise for assessing acute pain in children visiting emergency departments. However, further research is needed due to variations in children
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Emergency Medicine
- Biomarker Discovery
- Pain Management
Background:
- Pain is a frequent reason for pediatric emergency department visits, often exacerbated by procedures.
- Accurate pain assessment in children is challenging, necessitating innovative diagnostic methods.
- Current diagnostic approaches require improvement for effective pediatric pain management.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review and summarize literature on non-invasive salivary biomarkers for acute pain assessment in pediatric emergency care.
- To identify potential protein and hormone biomarkers suitable for pain diagnosis in children.
- To evaluate the feasibility of using salivary biomarkers in urgent pediatric care settings.
Main Methods:
- Systematic literature review focusing on studies published within the last 10 years.
- Inclusion criteria: novel protein and hormone biomarkers for acute pain diagnostics in adults and children (<18 years).
- Exclusion criteria: chronic pain studies and articles older than 10 years; data extraction included study characteristics and biomarkers.
Main Results:
- Salivary biomarkers including cortisol, salivary α-amylase, and immunoglobulins show potential for painless pain assessment in children.
- Saliva collection is a non-invasive and child-friendly method for biomarker analysis.
- Hormonal levels in saliva can vary significantly based on developmental stage and health conditions in children.
Conclusions:
- Salivary biomarkers offer a promising avenue for non-invasive pain assessment in pediatric emergency settings.
- Further research is essential to establish reliable reference ranges and validate these biomarkers across diverse pediatric populations.
- Continued exploration of salivary biomarkers is crucial for advancing pain diagnostics in urgent pediatric care.
Abstract:
Pain is one of the most common complaints leading to a pediatric emergency department visit and is associated with various painful procedures, leading to increased anxiety and stress. Assessing and treating pain in children can be challenging, so it is crucial to investigate new methods for pain diagnosis. The review aims to summarize the literature on non-invasive salivary biomarkers, such as proteins and hormones, for pain assessment in urgent pediatric care settings. Eligible studies were those that included novel protein and hormone biomarkers in acute pain diagnostics and were not older than 10 years. Chronic pain studies were excluded. Further, articles were divided into two groups: studies in adults and studies in children (<18 years). The following characteristics were extracted and summarized: study author, enrollment date, study location, patient age, study type, number of cases and groups, as well as tested biomarkers. Salivary biomarkers, such as cortisol, salivary α-amylase, and immunoglobulins, among others, could be appropriate for children as saliva collection is painless. However, hormonal levels can differ among children in different developmental stages and with various health conditions, with no predetermined levels of saliva. Thus, further exploration of biomarkers in pain diagnostics is still necessary.
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