Session-Order Sensitivity of TS and OA in a Capsaicin Crossover Model (TS-OA-Cap)

June 3, 2026 updated by: John Srbely, University of Guelph

Session-order Sensitivity of Temporal Summation and Offset Analgesia in a Randomised Crossover Capsaicin Model of Secondary Hyperalgesia

Temporal summation (TS) and offset analgesia (OA) are widely used psychophysical endpoints in pain research that index different components of central nociceptive processing. While crossover designs are commonly used in experimental pain studies to reduce between-participant variability, the design-stability of these endpoints under repeated testing during experimental sensitisation is not well characterised. This study compared the design-stability of mechanical TS (Sumscore) and offset analgesia magnitude (OffA) in a two-period, vehicle-controlled crossover trial of capsaicin-evoked secondary hyperalgesia in healthy adults. The primary aim was methodological: to determine whether session-order effects differ between TS and OffA when these are used as outcome measures in two-period crossover designs of capsaicin-induced central sensitisation. Topical capsaicin was used as a reversible experimental intervention to create a controlled, transient state of secondary hyperalgesia rather than as a therapeutic intervention. The study informs endpoint selection in future quantitative sensory testing (QST) crossover trials.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

This was a single-site, two-period, vehicle-controlled, allocation- and formulation-blinded, randomised crossover study conducted at the Department of Human Health Science, University of Guelph, Canada. Sixteen healthy adult volunteers (10 female, 6 male; mean age 21.9 years) were recruited between May 2024 and April 2025. Participants were randomised in a 1:1 intended allocation to one of two sequences: capsaicin-first then vehicle (Sequence A-to-B) or vehicle-first then capsaicin (Sequence B-to-A); actual allocation was 6:10. The allocation sequence was computer-generated by a research assistant not involved in outcome collection. Sessions were separated by a minimum 1-week washout. Topical 0.075% capsaicin cream (Zostrix; Hi-Tech Pharmacal) was applied as a 5 mL dose to a 5 x 10 cm target area on the lateral elbow and to bilateral C5-C6 cervicothoracic dermatomes. The comparator was an equivalent 5 mL volume of inert vehicle lotion (Lubriderm; Johnson & Johnson) applied identically; creams were matched for colour and texture and prepared by a research assistant in unlabelled containers. Mechanical temporal summation (Sumscore; 256 mN pinprick, 16 stimuli at 1 Hz) and thermal offset analgesia (OA; 32-46°C stepped-stimulus protocol with three thermal hold durations of 5, 10, and 15 s) were assessed at baseline and at 10, 20, 30, and 40 min post-intervention. Continuous pain ratings during thermal stimulation were captured via CoVAS. Primary outcomes (Sumscore and the duration-averaged baseline-normalised OffA) were analysed using REML linear mixed-effects models with fixed effects for Intervention, Time, Intervention x Time, Period, and Sequence, with random intercepts for Participant; sex was included as a pre-specified covariate. Within-session temporal stability was assessed using ICC(2,1). A combined Measure x Intervention x Period model tested for differential design-sensitivity between TS and OffA. The study was approved by the University of Guelph Research Ethics Board (REB #19-06-003).

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
16

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Canada
    • Ontario
      • Guelph, Ontario, Canada, N1G2W1
        • Human Health Sciences, University of Guelph

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Healthy adult volunteers (≥18 years of age)
  • Able to provide written informed consent in English

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Current or chronic pain
  • Neurological disease
  • Skin conditions or sensitivity over the test sites to capsaicin
  • Contraindications to thermal stimulation of the skin
  • Musculoskeletal conditions that could alter somatosensory processing
  • Use of analgesic medications within 24 hours prior to each session
  • Use of caffeine within 24 hours prior to each session
  • Use of alcohol within 24 hours prior to each session

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Basic Science
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Crossover Assignment
  • Masking: Triple

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Arm 1: Sequence A-to-B (Capsaicin first)
Participants received topical 0.075% capsaicin (Zostrix) cream (5 mL) in Period 1, followed by topical inert (Lubriderm) vehicle (5 mL) in Period 2. Periods were separated by a minimum 1-week washout. n = 6.
Drug: Topical 0.075% capsaicin cream (Zostrix)
5 mL of 0.075% capsaicin cream (Zostrix; Hi-Tech Pharmacal, Amityville, NY, USA) applied to a 5 x 10 cm target region on the lateral elbow and to bilateral C5-C6 cervicothoracic dermatomes (total 15 mL). The cream was massaged into the skin by a gloved investigator until no residue was visible. Used as an experimental probe to evoke transient, reversible secondary hyperalgesia; not under therapeutic evaluation.
Other: Topical vehicle lotion (Lubriderm)
5 mL of inert vehicle lotion (Lubriderm; Johnson & Johnson, Montgomery, NJ, USA) applied to the same dermatomes as the capsaicin condition (total 15 mL), using the identical preparation and massage technique. Matched to the capsaicin cream for colour and texture.
Active Comparator: Arm 2: Sequence B-to-A (Vehicle first)
Participants received topical inert (Lubriderm) vehicle (5 mL) in Period 1, followed by topical 0.075% capsaicin (Zostrix) cream (5 mL) in Period 2. Periods were separated by a minimum 1-week washout. n = 10.
Drug: Topical 0.075% capsaicin cream (Zostrix)
5 mL of 0.075% capsaicin cream (Zostrix; Hi-Tech Pharmacal, Amityville, NY, USA) applied to a 5 x 10 cm target region on the lateral elbow and to bilateral C5-C6 cervicothoracic dermatomes (total 15 mL). The cream was massaged into the skin by a gloved investigator until no residue was visible. Used as an experimental probe to evoke transient, reversible secondary hyperalgesia; not under therapeutic evaluation.
Other: Topical vehicle lotion (Lubriderm)
5 mL of inert vehicle lotion (Lubriderm; Johnson & Johnson, Montgomery, NJ, USA) applied to the same dermatomes as the capsaicin condition (total 15 mL), using the identical preparation and massage technique. Matched to the capsaicin cream for colour and texture.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Mechanical temporal summation (Sumscore)
Time Frame: Baseline and 10, 20, 30, and 40 min post-intervention (within each of two sessions, separated by a minimum 1-week washout)
Sumscore is a summed pinprick temporal-summation response computed from a train of 16 repeated 256 mN pinprick stimuli delivered perpendicularly to the skin at 1 Hz, paced by a metronome. Pain ratings (NPRS 0-10) immediately after each stimulus were summed (Clouse et al., 2021). The primary Sumscore endpoint was pre-specified as the average of the lateral and inferior testing sites at the lateral elbow, expressed as a baseline-normalised ratio.
Baseline and 10, 20, 30, and 40 min post-intervention (within each of two sessions, separated by a minimum 1-week washout)
Offset analgesia magnitude (OffA)
Time Frame: Baseline and 10, 20, 30, and 40 min post-intervention (within each of two sessions, separated by a minimum 1-week washout)
OffA was measured during a three-phase stepped-stimulus thermal protocol (32-45-46-45-32°C; T1/T2/T3 phases) using a 32 x 32 mm Peltier contact thermode (TSA-II NeuroSensory Analyzer, Medoc AMS). Continuous pain ratings were collected via CoVAS (0-100) at 10 Hz. OA magnitude was quantified as peak minus nadir CoVAS during the 46°C hold and the subsequent 45°C phase. The primary OffA endpoint was pre-specified as the duration-averaged value across three thermal hold durations (5, 10, and 15 s at 46°C), expressed as a baseline-normalised ratio.
Baseline and 10, 20, 30, and 40 min post-intervention (within each of two sessions, separated by a minimum 1-week washout)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Within-session temporal stability (ICC(2,1)) of Sumscore and OffA
Time Frame: 10, 20, 30, and 40 minutes post-intervention
Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC(2,1); Shrout and Fleiss, 1979) computed across the four post-intervention time points (10, 20, 30, 40 min) within each intervention condition, separately for Sumscore and OffA. Reported with bias-corrected bootstrap 95% confidence intervals.
10, 20, 30, and 40 minutes post-intervention
Differential design-sensitivity (Measure × Intervention × Period interaction)
Time Frame: 10, 20, 30, and 40 minutes post-intervention, across two crossover periods separated by a minimum 1-week washout.
A combined linear mixed-effects model using within-measure z-scored outcomes tested whether the period-adjusted intervention estimate differed between TS and OffA. Three-way Measure x Intervention x Period interaction tested via Wald F-tests with residual degrees of freedom.
10, 20, 30, and 40 minutes post-intervention, across two crossover periods separated by a minimum 1-week washout.

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
University of Guelph

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
May 1, 2024

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
April 30, 2025

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
April 30, 2025

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
May 22, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
June 3, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
June 4, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
June 4, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
June 3, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
June 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • GUELPH-REB-19-06-003
  • REB #19-06-003 (Other Identifier: University of Guelph)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

De-identified individual participant data (IPD) and statistical analysis code will be available from the corresponding author on reasonable request, subject to a data-use agreement and institutional ethics/data-sharing requirements. Materials required to reproduce the intervention and assessment protocol are described in the published Methods and Supplementary Materials.

IPD Sharing Time Frame

On request following publication of the primary manuscript.

IPD Sharing Access Criteria

Reasonable request to the corresponding author for non-commercial research use, subject to a data-use agreement consistent with University of Guelph data-sharing policy.

IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type

  • STUDY_PROTOCOL
  • SAP
  • ICF
  • ANALYTIC_CODE

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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