Chronic widespread pain is highly present in patients with the Ehlers-Danlos syndrome hypermobility type (EDS-HT), but up to now, evidence for generalized hyperalgesia is lacking. The aim of this study is to investigate whether pressure pain thresholds (PPTs) at both symptomatic and asymptomatic body areas differ in EDS-HT patients compared to healthy subjects. Twenty-three women with EDS-HT and 23 gender- and age-matched healthy controls participated. All subjects marked on Margolis Pain Diagram where they felt pain lasting longer than 24 h in the past 4 weeks. Then, they completed several questionnaires assessing pain cognitions, fatigue, disability, and general health status, in order to take the possible influence of these factors on PPTs into account. Patients also completed a form concerning the type of pain they experienced. Thereupon, a blinded researcher assessed PPTs at 14 body locations on the trunk and extremities. PPTs were compared for the two complete groups. In addition, PPTs of patients and controls who did not report pain in a respective zone were compared. PPTs of the patients were significantly lower compared to those of the control group, also when pain-free samples per zone were compared. The mean (SD) PPT was 2.9 (1.62) kg/cm(2) in the EDS-HT patients and 5.2 (1.88) kg/cm(2) in the controls (P < 0.001). No confounding factors responsible for the observed differences could be revealed. In half of the patient group, a predominantly neuropathic pain component was likely present. This study provides evidence for the existence of hyperalgesia even in asymptomatic areas (generalized secondary hyperalgesia). The generalized hyperalgesia may represent the involvement of a sensitized central nervous system, which inquires an adapted pain management for this patient group.
INTRODUCTION: Lowered pressure pain thresholds have been demonstrated in adults with Ehlers-Danlos Hypermobility type(EDS-HT), however it remains unclear if these findings are also present in children. Therefore, the objectives of the study were to: (1)determine if generalized hyperalgesia is present in Hypermobility syndrome (HMS)/EDS-HT children, (2)explore potential differences in pressure pain thresholds between HMS/EDS-HT children and adults, and (3)determine the discriminative value of generalized hyperalgesia.METHODS: Patients classified in one of three groups: HMS/EDS-HT, hypermobile (Beighton score ≥4/9) and healthy controls. Descriptive data of age, gender, body mass index, Beighton score, skin laxity and medication usage were collected. Generalized hyperalgesia was quantified by the averaged pressure pain thresholds collected from 12 locations. The following confounders were collected: pain locations/intensity, fatigue, psychological distress. Comparisons between HMS/EDS-HT children and normative values, between children and adults with HMS/EDS-HT, corrected confounders, were analysed with MANCOVA. The discriminative value of generalized hyperalgesia employed in order to differentiate between HMS/EDS-HT, hypermobile and controls was quantified with logistic regression.RESULTS: Significantly lower pressure pain thresholds were found in children with HMS/EDS-HT compared to normative values (range: -22.0% to -59.0%, p=<.05). When applying a threshold of 30.8 N/cm(2) for males and 29.0 N/cm(2) for females, the presence of generalized hyperalgesia discriminated between individuals with HMS/EDS-HT, hypermobile and healthy controls (odds ratio=6.0).CONCLUSION: Children and adults with HMS/EDS-HT are characterized by hypermobility, chronic pain, as well as generalized hyperalgesia. The presence of generalized hyperalgesia may indicate involvement of the central nervous system in the development of chronic pain. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
The aim of the present study was to investigate the nature and prevalence of nonspecific somatic symptoms, pain and catastrophizing in children with Heritable Connective Tissue Disorders (HCTD), and to determine their association with disability. This observational, multicenter study included 127 children, aged 4–18 years, with Marfan syndrome (MFS) (59%), Loeys-Dietz syndrome (LDS) (8%), Ehlers-Danlos syndromes (EDS) (12%) and hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (hEDS) (23%). The assessments included the Children's Somatization Inventory or parent proxy (CSI, PCSI), pain visual-analogue scale (VAS), SUPERKIDZ body diagram, Pain Catastrophizing Scale Child or parent proxy (PCS-C, PCS-P) and Childhood Health Assessment Questionnaire (CHAQ-30). Data from children aged ≥8 years were compared to normative data. In children ≥ 8 years (n = 90), pain was present in 59%, with a median of 4 (IQR = 3–9) pain areas. Compared to normative data, the HCTD group reported significantly higher on the CSI (p ≤ 0.001, d = 0.85), VAS pain intensity (p ≤ 0.001, d = 1.22) and CHAQ-30 (p ≤ 0.001, d = 1.16) and lower on the PCS-C (p = 0.017, d = −0.82) and PCS-P (p ≤ 0.001, d = −0.49). The intensity of nonspecific somatic symptoms and pain explained 45% of the variance in disability (r2 = 0.45 F(2,48) = 19.70, p ≤ 0.001). In children ≤ 7 years (n = 37), pain was present in 35% with a median of 5(IQR = 1–13) pain areas. The mean(SD) VAS scores for pain intensity was 1.5(2.9). Functional disability was moderately correlated to the number of pain areas (r = 0.56, p ≤ 0.001), intensity of nonspecific somatic symptoms (r = 0.63, p ≤ 0.001) and pain (r = 0.83, p ≤ 0.001). In conclusion, this study supports the need for comprehensive assessment of nonspecific somatic symptoms, pain, and disability in children with HCTD to allow tailored treatment.
