Consistency and Accuracy of Multiple Pain Scales Measured in Cancer Patients From Multiple Ethnic Groups

Abstract

Background Standardized pain-intensity measurement across different tools would enable practitioners to have confidence in clinical decision-making for pain management. Objectives The purpose was to examine the degree of agreement among unidimensional pain scales, and to determine the accuracy of the multidimensional pain scales in the diagnosis of severe pain. Methods A secondary analysis was performed. The sample included a convenience sample of 480 cancer patients recruited from both the internet and community settings. Cancer pain was measured using the Verbal Descriptor Scale (VDS), the Visual Analog Scale (VAS), the Faces Pain Scale (FPS), the McGill Pain Questionnaire-Short Form (MPQ-SF) and the Brief Pain Inventory-Short Form (BPI-SF). Data were analyzed using a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and a receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve. Results The agreement between the VDS and VAS was 77.25%, while the agreement was 71.88% and 71.60% between the VDS and FPS, and VAS and FPS, respectively. The MPQ-SF and BPI-SF yielded high accuracy in the diagnosis of severe pain. Cutoff points for severe pain were > 8 for the MPQ-SF and > 14 for the BPI-SF, which exhibited high sensitivity and relatively low specificity. Conclusion The study found substantial agreement between the unidimensional pain scales, and high accuracy of the MPQ-SF and the BPI-SF in the diagnosis of severe pain. Implications for Practice Use of one or more pain screening tools that have been validated diagnostic accuracy and consistency will help classify pain effectively and subsequently promote optimal pain control in multi-ethnic groups of cancer patients.

Multicenter longitudinal cross-sectional study comparing effectiveness of serratus anterior plane, paravertebral and thoracic epidural for the analgesia of multiple rib fractures

“…Inspiratory volumes were measured with an incentive spirometer (mL). Pain scores were measured by a 4-point Likert Verbal Rating Scale (VRS) using standardized categories 14. Pain scores of 0–3 were recorded, where 0=no pain, 1=mild pain, 2=moderate pain and 3=severe pain.…”

Postoperative discomfort after implant placement according to the All‐on‐4 concept with or without Zygoma implants: A prospective clinical study

“…In the literature, we find a number of methods for the description of postoperative discomfort, especially pain (Rapo‐Pylkko, Haanpaa, & Liira, ; Schmitter, List, & Wirz, ). In the present study, the visual analog scale (VAS) was chosen because in day‐to‐day clinical practice it has proved its usefulness for the documentation of acute and postoperative discomfort (Breivik et al, ; Ham, Kang, Teng, Lee, & Im, ). It is a measuring instrument for the assessment of patients' subjective discomfort of various kinds which is easy to understand and easy to use and delivers valid and reliable results (Rapo‐Pylkko et al, ).…”

Pressure Pain Phenotypes in Women Before Breast Cancer Treatment

“…Pain interference is an average of seven items asking how much, in the past 24 hours, pain has interfered with mood, enjoyment of life, and five daily activities. The BPI-SF has demonstrated strong internal consistency (alpha = 0.8-0.92), stability (test-retest reliability range = 0.78-0.98), and validity in cancer populations (Cleeland, 2009;Ham, Kang, Teng, Lee, & Im, 2015). Evidence supports face, expert content, construct (factor analysis), and criterion-related validity.…”