Recent studies support the opinion that central sensitization (CS) plays an important role in the pathophysiology of many chronic pain conditions. CS refers to hyperexcitability of the central nervous system, which can result in pain hypersensitivity and other somatosensory symptoms. Recognition of CS-related symptomology is crucial in chronic pain evaluation and rehabilitation. The Central Sensitization Inventory (CSI) was created to evaluate symptoms that have been found to be associated with CS. The aim of the current study was the cross-cultural adaptation of the CSI into Greek (CSI-Gr).
To evaluate discriminate validity, 200 patients with chronic pain and 50 healthy control subjects participated. The sample was divided into 4 diagnostic groups (fibromyalgia, single pain complaints, multiple pain complaints, and a control group) and into 5 CSI severity subgroups, from subclinical to extreme. Convergent validity was determined by evaluation of the relationship between the CSI-Gr and the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS). Additionally, 30 patients completed the CSI a second time for the purpose of a test/retest analysis.
The results showed high internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.994) and test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.993). The standard error of measurement was 2.1. The CSI-Gr correlated moderately with the PCS (r = 0.68). Statistically significant differences were found among the 3 comparison groups, with patients who had fibromyalgia reporting the highest CSI severity and healthy control subjects reporting the lowest severity.
As determined in the present study, the CSI-Gr was found to be a reliable and valid tool for recognition of CS-related symptomology.