Abstract
Cold sensitivity, a common and disabling sequela of hand injury, can be assessed using the Cold Intolerance Symptom Severity (CISS) questionnaire, rating symptoms on a scale from 4 to 100. The primary objective of this study was to define a clinical cut-off for abnormal cold sensitivity based on the CISS score in a healthy working-age population. The secondary objective was to investigate how age, gender and previous injuries and diseases influence CISS scoring. In this study, 1239 out of 1582 selected healthy subjects of working age living in northern Sweden completed the questionnaire, yielding a response rate of 78%. The 95th percentile for the CISS score was 49.5 for men and 53.0 for women. The effects of age, gender and previous injuries and diseases were minor and not considered clinically relevant. The results support that a CISS score above 50 should be considered as abnormal cold sensitivity.Level of evidence: III
Highlights
Cold sensitivity, or cold intolerance, was defined by Campbell and Kay (1998) as a collection of acquired symptoms, resulting in an abnormal aversion to cold with pain, altered sensibility, stiffness or colour changes
The description of symptoms can be supported by a standardized questionnaire; the first validated questionnaire that was widely adopted was the Cold Sensitivity Severity scale (McCabe et al, 1991), and it was subsequently modified into the Cold Intolerance Symptom Severity (CISS) score (Irwin et al, 1997)
According to the CISS score, some degree of coldrelated hand symptoms were common among healthy subjects in northern Sweden, with a 95th percentile for CISS scoring of 49.5 for men and 53.0 for women
Summary
Cold intolerance, was defined by Campbell and Kay (1998) as a collection of acquired symptoms, resulting in an abnormal aversion to cold with pain, altered sensibility, stiffness or colour changes. It has been reported as a sequela to different kinds of traumatic hand injuries (Lithell et al, 1997), cold injuries (Hutchison, 2014) and hand–arm vibration (HAV) syndrome (Carlsson et al, 2010b). The diagnosis of cold sensitivity is usually based solely on the symptoms reported by the individual.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
