Orofacial Thermal Quantitative Sensory Testing (QST): A Study of Healthy Korean Women and Sex Difference

Purpose: Thermal sensory test as an essential part of quantitative sensory testing (QST) has been recognized as a useful tool in the evaluation of the trigeminal nerve function. Normative data in the orofacial region have been reported but the data on differences in the test site, sex and ethnicity are still insufficient. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the normal range of orofacial thermal QST data in the healthy Korean women, and assess sex difference of thermal perception in the orofacial regions. Methods: Thermal QST was conducted on 20 healthy women participants (mean age, 26.4 years; range, 21 to 34 years). The thermal thresholds (cold detection threshold, CDT; warm detection threshold, WDT; cold pain threshold, CPT; and heat pain threshold, HPT) were measured bilaterally at the 5 trigeminal sites (the forehead, cheek, mentum, lower lip and tongue tip). The normative thermal thresholds of women in the orofacial region were evaluated using one-way ANOVA and compared with the previously reported data from age- and site-matched 30 healthy men (mean age, 26.1 years; range, 23 to 32 years) using two-way ANOVA. One experienced operator performed the tests of both sexes and all tests were done in the same condition except the time variability. Results: Women showed significant site differences for the CDT (p<0.001), WDT (p<0.001), and HPT (p=0.047) in the orofacial region. The CDT (p<0.001) and the CPT (p=0.007) presented significant sex difference unlike the WDT and the HPT. Conclusions: The thermal sensory evaluation in the orofacial region should be considered in the context of site and sex and the normative data in this study could be useful for assessment of the sensory abnormalities in the clinical setting.