Quantitative Dynamic Allodynograph-A Standardized Measure for Testing Dynamic Mechanical Allodynia in Chronic Limb Pain.

Background: Dynamic mechanical allodynia (DMA) is both a symptom and a central sensitization sign, yet no standardized method for quantifying the DMA area has been reported. This study aimed to establish psychometric properties for (), a newly developed protocol measuring the DMA area as a percentage of the body surface.

Methods: Seventy-eight patients aged 18-65 diagnosed with chronic complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) participated in this study. Test-retest reliability was conducted twice, one week apart (N = 20), and inter-rater (N = 3) reliability was conducted on 10 participants. Disease severity (, ), pain intensity (VAS), and quality of life (SF-36) measures were utilized to test construct validity.

Results: High inter-rater reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) = 0.96, < 0.001) and test-retest reliability ( = 0.98, < 0.001) were found. Furthermore, the QDA score was found to be correlated with the CSS ( = 0.47, < 0.001), VAS ( = 0.37, < 0.001), and the SF-36 physical health total ( = -0.47, < 0.001) scores.

Conclusion: The QDA is the first developed reliable and valid protocol for measuring DMA in a clinical setting and may be used as a diagnostic and prognostic measure in clinics and in research, advancing the pain precision medicine approach.