New method of thermoregulatory sweat test using metachromatic clothes

Abstract

IntroductionThe thermoregulatory sweat test (TST) is a useful method for assessing the sweating pathway from central to peripheral regions, but it is not widely used in clinical practice due to the difficulty of the test method, especially when undressing and applying the indicator powder. This study aimed to determine whether metachromatic clothes could replace indicator powder in TST.MethodsThirty healthy adults participated in the study. All participants underwent TST using indicator powder and metachromatic clothes on separate days. The amount of sweating was evaluated as the percentage of sweating area relative to the total measurable body area. The paired t-test was used to analyze whether there was a difference in the amount of sweating measured in the two tests.ResultsThere was no statistically significant difference between the tests using metachromatic clothes and those using indicator powder (p = 0.131).DiscussionTST can be performed using metachromatic clothes instead of indicator powder, which makes TST more accessible in clinical settings.