PaiNEd app. Assessing central sensitization in survivors of breast cancer: A reliability study.

INTRODUCTION

Pain is a common adverse event in survivors of breast cancer (sBCs). As there is no gold standard to assess pain experience predominantly related to central sensitization (CS) symptoms, we designed the , which includes an algorithm to report whether patients are under predominant CS pain mechanisms.

OBJECTIVE

We aimed to assess the reliability of the to estimate whether sBC pain experience is predominantly related to CS symptoms.

METHODS

An observational, descriptive reliability design was employed to assess the inter- and intrarater reliability of the This app includes an algorithm that considers the number of painful body parts and some questionnaires related to pain, such as the Numeric Pain-Rating Scale the Brief Pain Inventory, the Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia, the Pain Catastrophizing Scale, and the Central Sensitization Inventory (CSI).

RESULTS

A total of 21 sBCs with persistent pain were recruited. We observe a general trend of close agreement between the paper-based and app-based formats (ICCs ranged between 0.802 and 0.972; Cronbach's alpha ranged between 0.797 and 0.971). Test-retest reliabilities were moderate to excellent (ICCs ranged between 0.510 and 0.941; Cronbach's alpha ranged between 0.499 and 0.938). The agreement between the categorization of the CS algorithm and the CSI (cut-off point ≥ 40 for CS symptoms) was 95.24%.

CONCLUSION

The emerges as a robust tool for evaluating pain experience predominantly related to CS and pain-related symptoms in sBCs. Its demonstrated reliability not only bolsters its utility but also signifies its potential as a valuable asset for healthcare professionals engaged in pain education programs.