• Andrea Viggiano, Nicola Zagaria, Maria Beatrice Passavanti, Maria Caterina Pace, Antonella Paladini, Caterina Aurilio, Michele Adolfo Tedesco, Francesco Natale, Raffaele Calabrò, Marcellino Monda, and Elena De Luca.
• Department of Study of Institutions and Territorial Systems, University of Naples Parthenope, Napoli, Italy. andrea.viggiano@uniparthenope.it
• Pain Pract. 2009 Jul 1; 9 (4): 260-5.

ObjectiveThe aim of the present work was to measure the pain threshold in hypertensive patients with a new auto-algometry method.Design And SettingAuto-algometry consists of asking the subjects to push their fingers against a fixed round-tip needle until they feel a pain sensation. An electronic force transducer permits the measurement of the force applied by the subjects and storage of the data on a personal computer. Eight tests are performed twice on each subject on the tip and back of four fingers. For each test, the maximal applied force (grams) is defined as pain threshold. The overall discomfort during the entire procedure is reported by the subjects on a 0 (no discomfort) to 10 (intolerable pain) scale.Patients And InterventionsA group of hypertensive patients (n = 22) and a group of normotensive subjects (n = 22) underwent the auto-algometry examination.ResultsThe pain threshold was higher in hypertensive patients compared with normotensive subjects. All discomfort scores referred by the subjects fell within the 4-6 range.ConclusionThe data obtained from this study indicate that the auto-algometer as described here can detect hypoalgesia associated with hypertension.

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