Quantitative Thermal Testing Profiles as a Predictor of Treatment Response to Topical Capsaicin in Patients with Localized Neuropathic Pain

Figure 1

QTT profiles flowchart and responders/nonresponders to treatment. WST = warm sensation threshold. HPT = heat pain threshold. n.s. = not significant differences between painful and asymptomatic areas. ↑ = painful area with a significantly high difference versus the asymptomatic contralateral area. ↓ = painful area with a significantly low difference versus the asymptomatic contralateral area. In parenthesis (), number of patients with this profile. R = responders to treatment with capsaicin patch. NR = nonresponders to treatment with capsaicin patch. Clinical definitions such as hypoalgesia, hyperalgesia, hypoesthesia, and hyperesthesia are given to improve reading comprehension to understand the comparison versus the contralateral asymptomatic area; these QTT are not comparable to normalized published data.