The binding hub for data capture, visualization and analysis is a standardized visual framework where pain is represented as a time series. In Fig. 1 we use it for the description of the expected temporal evolution of the pain associated with a leg fracture. Since pain experiences can unfold over a wide range of periods (from milliseconds to years), time segments represent different durations to ensure the flexibility needed.
Two are the possible ways to register the evolution of pain intensity: the path (Fig. 1a) and chance (Fig. 1b) modes. In the path mode, pain intensity levels are considered as a continuous (though not necessarily linear) gradient from no pain to excruciating pain. Estimates of variability (eg, confidence intervals) can also be added. This mode is a convenient way of recording pain in the clinical setting. The chance mode (Fig. 1b) is designed to capture (i) the temporal profile of pain at the population level, considering the expected variability in pain perception in a population or (ii) situations where uncertainty in the classification of pain intensity is present, a possibility useful for assessing pain in non-verbal subjects. Accordingly, for each time segment, intensity categories can be filled either (i) with the estimated proportion of the population that experiences pain at each level or (ii) with the probability that the pain belongs to that category of intensity. If stacked cells do not add up to 100%, the remainder percentage is attributed to a state of “no pain”. To incorporate the uncertainty in the duration of segments, each can be represented by a confidence interval.
The detailed justification of the estimates in Fig. 1 is provided in the Additional File 1. Briefly, the initial period represents the sharp, piercing pain that is often described by patients at the time of fracture [16], when mechanosensitive nerve receptors are activated. At this time, pain is most likely of a disabling nature (Fig. 1a), capturing nearly all the individual’s attention: sufferers are unable to perform other activities and strong analgesia is commonly required. The chance mode (Fig. 1b) captures the possibility that a small percentage of patients (10%), with a low pain threshold, experience excruciating pain, based on reports that some patients beg to be sedated or have their limbs amputated [17]. Once the fracture is aligned or stabilized, the sharpest, most intense pain is commonly replaced by a dull, sustained pain that would last some days in the absence of analgesic treatment, coinciding with the peak of the inflammatory process [18]. Pain typically subsides during soft callus formation. This period usually lasts 2–4 weeks, from stabilization of the inflammatory process until formation of the hard callus and initiation of bone remodeling. At this stage, the expression of osteoinduction mediators at the injury site, particularly members of the bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) family, underlie the persistent pain that some patients report (BMP2 has been linked to some pain pathways [19], inflammation [20] and the release of neuroinflammatory proteins [21]).
The structure of the Pain-Track offers a means to explore putative associations between pain patterns and temporal variation in brain activity (eg, [6]) or other continuous parameters that may become available [3]. It accommodates data collection processes conducted with traditional instruments and time-indexed information, over which pain experiences can be anchored. The proposed notation has been designed to be of easy use by clinicians, patients and researchers, and amenable to digital capture and processing. The simplicity of this method also allows for patients to self-record pain episodes and the evolution of their chronic conditions, which can improve the accuracy of the description compared with later recall [22]. To facilitate the use of the framework, an electronic version was also developed, freely available at http://pain-track.org.
The use of the Pain-track framework seems similarly promising for the description of conditions leading to physiological discomfort (e.g. hunger, thirst) or psychological pain (e.g., anxiety, depression). The degree to which behavior and attention to other ongoing experiences are disrupted by these experiences can be used as a yardstick to infer the intensity of the sensation.