Central sensitization inventory in endometriosis

Natasha L Orr, Kate J Wahl, Kate Wahl, Michelle Lisonek, Angela Joannou, Heather Noga, Arianne Albert, Mohamed A Bedaiwy, Christina Williams, Catherine Allaire, Paul J Yong
Pain · 2021 · vol. 163(2) , pp. e234–e245 · doi:10.1097/j.pain.0000000000002351 · PMID:34030173 · W3164593880
article OA: closed CC0 ⤵ 37 in-corpus citations
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⚙ AI-generated summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-07 ⓘ

This study identified a Central Sensitization Inventory (CSI) cutoff score of 40 as a practical tool to help identify patients with endometriosis experiencing central nervous system sensitization contributing to their pain.

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Abstract

ABSTRACT: A key clinical problem is identifying the patient with endometriosis whose pain is complicated by central nervous system sensitization, where conventional gynecologic treatment (eg, hormonal therapy or surgery) may not completely alleviate the pain. The Central Sensitization Inventory (CSI) is a questionnaire previously validated in the chronic pain population. The objective of this study was an exploratory proof-of-concept to identify a CSI cutoff in the endometriosis population to discriminate between individuals with significant central contributors (identified by central sensitivity syndromes [CSS]) to their pain compared to those without. We analyzed a prospective data registry at a tertiary referral center for endometriosis, and included subjects aged 18 to 50 years with endometriosis who were newly or re-referred to the center in 2018. The study sample consisted of 335 subjects with a mean age of 36.0 ± 7.0 years. An increasing number of CSS was significantly correlated with dysmenorrhea, deep dyspareunia, dyschezia, and chronic pelvic pain scores (P < 0.001), and with the CSI score (0-100) (r = 0.731, P < 0.001). Receiver operating characteristic analysis indicated that a CSI cutoff of 40 had a sensitivity of 78% (95% CI: 72.7%-84.6%) and a specificity of 80% (95% CI: 70.3%-84.5%) for identifying a patient with endometriosis with ≥3 CSS. In the group with CSI ≥ 40, 18% retrospectively self-reported pain nonresponsive to hormonal therapy and 40% self-reported daily pain, compared with 6% and 20% in the CSI < 40 group (P = 0.003 and 0.002, respectively). In conclusion, a CSI ≥ 40 may be a practical tool to help identify patients with endometriosis with pain contributors related to central nervous system sensitization.

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Condition tags

dyspareuniaendometriosischronic_pelvic_paindysmenorrhea

MeSH descriptors

Central Nervous System Sensitization Chronic Pain Chronic Pain Chronic Pain Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Pelvic Pain Pelvic Pain Pelvic Pain Adolescent Adult Constipation Constipation Dyspareunia Dyspareunia Female Humans Middle Aged Prospective Studies

Citation neighborhood

Papers in the corpus that this work cites (lower rings, blue) and that cite this one (upper rings, green). Dot size scales with the paper's in-corpus citation count — bigger dot = more influential within the endo/adeno field. Click a dot to open that paper. [ expand to 2 hops ] — adds papers reached through this work's immediate citers/citees. Heavier; up to 60 extra dots.

References (64)

Cited by (40)

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