Evaluation of cutaneous and proprioceptive sensation in children: a reliability study

Area of Science:

• Pediatric neurology
• Sensory neuroscience
• Clinical assessment tools

Background:

• Accurate assessment of cutaneous and proprioceptive sensation is crucial for pediatric neurological evaluation.
• Existing sensory assessment tools require validation for reliability in pediatric populations.
• Understanding sensory perception in children aids in diagnosing and managing neurological conditions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the intra-rater reliability of four clinical sensory assessment tools in healthy children.
• To evaluate the objectivity and reproducibility of touch pressure, vibration perception, thermal discrimination, and kinaesthesis tests in pediatric subjects.
• To compare sensory scores in children with existing data from adult populations.

Main Methods:

• Forty-three healthy children (aged 6-12 years) participated in the study.
• Sensory assessment tools were applied bilaterally to proximal and distal upper and lower extremity sites.
• Intra-rater reliability was calculated using mean intraclass coefficients.

Main Results:

• Good to excellent intra-rater reliability was observed for all tested sensory assessment tools.
• Sensory scores in children were comparable to those reported in adult literature.
• No significant effects of sex, age, or laterality were found on sensory scores.
• Touch pressure and vibration perception scores were significantly influenced by the tested site, with the index fingerpad being most sensitive.

Conclusions:

• The evaluated clinical tools offer objective and reproducible measurements of cutaneous and proprioceptive sensation in children.
• These findings support the use of these tools for reliable sensory assessment in pediatric clinical practice.
• The index fingerpad demonstrates heightened sensitivity for touch pressure and vibration detection in children.