Symptom severity is associated with signs of central sensitization in patients with asthma.

INTRODUCTION: Asthma is characterized by recurrent episodes of wheezing, dyspnoea, chest tightness and cough. In addition to respiratory symptoms, previous studies have reported the presence of pain.

OBJECTIVE: To analyse the nociceptive processing of young adults with well-controlled asthma.

METHODS: A cross-sectional case-control study was performed. Patients diagnosed with persistent well-controlled asthma were recruited from the 'Complejo Hospitalario Universitario' (Granada). Main outcomes included pain processing, measured by the pressure-pain thresholds (PPTs) and temporal summation and latency of pain; symptoms, including cough (Leicester Cough Questionnaire) and dyspnoea (Borg scale); and catastrophic cognitions about breathlessness, assessed by the Breathlessness Catastrophizing Scale (BCS).

RESULTS: Seven-two participants were finally recruited in our study. Patients with asthma presented lower pressure thresholds (p < 0.05) and significant differences in latency and summation tests. These patients also presented a greater cough level, with significant differences in all subscales (p < 0.05). Significant differences were also found in the BCS between groups (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION: Our results show a decrease of PPTs and a greater pain intensity in latency and summation tests, suggesting an abnormal pain processing in patients with asthma.