TENS reduced PLT pain and analgesic consumption. Thus, TENS can be recommended as an easy and reliable analgesic method in PLT.

Pain is a stressor for intensive care unit (ICU) patients, and inadequate pain assessment has been linked to increased morbidity and mortality. One hundred and twenty patients were evaluated during three periods: (T1) 1 min before, (T2) during, and (T3) 20 min after the nociceptive procedure. For each patient, data were obtained through at least two nociceptive procedures. Conscious patients' self-reports of pain were assessed using the Numerical Rating Scale and Visual Analog Scale. For unconscious patients, the Behavioral Pain Scale was used instead. Descriptive statistical methods, Friedman's test, and Spearman's rank correlation coefficient were used for the data analysis. Significant changes were observed in heart rate (HR), respiratory rate (RR), and peripheral oxygen saturation (SpO ) during nociceptive procedures. The HR, RR, and pain scores increased, while the SpO decreased. Positive correlation coefficients were observed between the pain intensity and HR and RR levels. According to our study findings, vital signs are not strong indicators for pain assessment in neurosurgery ICU patients. However, HR and RR can be used as cues when behavioral indicators are not valid in these unconscious patients.

SummaryObjective: This study aims to investigate the validity and reliability of the Turkish Revised American Pain Society Patient Outcome Questionnaire (APS-POQ-R-TR). Methods: A methodological and cross-sectional design was used. This study included a total of 250 surgical patients (98 males, 152 females) between January 2015 and January 2016. Data were collected using a demographic questionnaire and the APS-POQ-R. Language equivalence, content and construct validity, and reliability of the scale were evaluated. Results: The Pearson correlation coefficient of the scale for parallel test reliability was 0.362, and the Cronbach's alpha value was determined as 0.88 in the APS-POQ-R-TR. According to fit indexes of the confirmatory factor analysis [x2/SD=362.53/125=2.90; RMSEA=0.087 (90% CI: 0.077-0.098); CFI=0.95; IFI=0.95; NNFI=0.94], three factors were found to be appropriate for the APS-POQ-R-TR. Conclusion:The adaptation of the translated APS-POQ-R in Turkey is reliable and valid to measure and evaluate the quality of postoperative pain management in the Turkish population.

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