Sensory Assessment of Regional Analgesia in Humans

SENSORY assessment of regional analgesia is performed routinely for clinical purposes and also plays an important role in anesthesia and pain research. In the past years, new methods were developed and old methods were improved. Technological progress has allowed a more reliable delivery of different stimulation patterns and more advanced recordings of physiologic parameters related to nociceptive processing and modulation. Important developments include methods that explore the activation of different nerve fibers, models that activate specific spinal cord mechanisms (such as temporal summation), and methods that evaluate muscle and visceral pain. As a result of this new knowledge, the application of sensory testing of regional analgesia in humans must be redetermined. New indications of the use of these methods then can be provided. In the current article, we update the knowledge available in the field of sensory assessment of regional analgesia in humans. The aims are as follows: (1) to describe and analyze the methods, (2) to define the applications, (3) to provide evidence-based indications for the use of these methods in anesthesia and pain research, and (4) to define areas in which further research is needed.