An Integrated Quantitative Index for Measuring Chronic Multisite Pain: The Multiple Areas of Pain (MAP) Study

Abstract

IPQI provided a single pain score for representing complex, multidimensional pain information on one scale and has implications for comparing pain populations across longitudinal clinical trials.

From Paper to Digital Applications of the Pain Drawing: Systematic Review of Methodological Milestones

“…The most commonly used topographic features of the body in PD analysis are predetermined body regions [58-61] and dermatomes [24,62-64].…”

“…More recently, Wallace et al introduced dermatome distance measure, defined as the number of segments between the most cranial and the most caudal painful dermatomes, to assess the severity of chronic pain disorders. Together with pain area, intensity, and persistence, the dermatome distance is part of the proposed Integrated Pain Quantification Index (IPQI), a one-dimensional pain score for representing the complex, multidimensional pain experience [64].…”

“…Quantitative information on these aspects is well suited to complement other pain assessments such as questionnaires or analogue scales. Analytical methods include simple measures, such as pain area [55,56] or the number of clusters [15], topographic measures, such as segmental involvement [62,63] or widespreadness [61], and compound measures, such as the IPQI [64], that combine simple and topographic measures in a single one-dimensional score. More PD-derived measures will likely be developed, and their usefulness tested with the broader application of digital image analysis tools.…”

“…Here, computer-based methods offer the possibility to analyze pain patterns in ever greater detail. Although digitally acquired PDs are advantageous for such analyses, they are by no means a prerequisite, as evidenced by numerous papers applying elaborate analyses to scanned or otherwise digitized pen-and-paper PDs [24,32,64,78,79]. Digital image processing also allows for digitization and analysis of extensive collections of pen-and-paper PDs (eg, as seen in the study by Wallace et al [64]), treasures which may be buried in medical archives).…”

“…The final PDs can be archived and shared in full color either electronically or in printed form. Instead of reducing data size to a level that can be handled without a computer, measures derived from digital PDs can utilize all available data down to the pixel level and apply mathematical transformations of high complexity [64,73].…”