“Hierarchical Clustering by Patient-Reported Pain Distribution Alone Identifies Distinct Chronic Pain Subgroups Differing by Pain Intensity, Quality, and Clinical Outcomes” by department authors Benedict Alter, MD, PhD, and Ajay D. Wasan, MD, MSc, and colleagues from the University of Pittsburgh Departments of Biostatistics and Psychiatry was recently published in PLoS One. Using an algorithmic approach, the authors found that how patients report the bodily distribution of their chronic pain affects nearly all aspects of the pain experience, including what happens three months later. These findings emphasize that chronic pain is a disease process and suggests that this facet of the chronic pain phenotype will be important for future developments in diagnosis and personalized pain management.
The article was featured in several news publications, including Science Daily, Medical News, Florida Times News, and Science Alert.com; Pain Research Forum selected it as one of their Papers of the Week for June 31 – August 6, 2021; and Dr. Alter was interviewed about his work in for PainRelief.com.