TY - JOUR
T1 - Visual analog scales for assessing surgical pain
AU - McCarthy, Martin
AU - Chang, Chih Hung
AU - Pickard, A. Simon
AU - Giobbie-Hurder, Anita
AU - Price, Donald D.
AU - Jonasson, Olga
AU - Gibbs, James
AU - Fitzgibbons, Robert
AU - Neumayer, Leigh
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors wish to thank the Office of Research and Development, Department of Veterans Affairs, for supporting the study, as well as the site investigators and staff at the fourteen VA Medical Centers who participated in the conduct of the research project. We also appreciate the early contribution of Martin J McCarthy, MD, FACS in conceptualizing the patient-reported outcomes measures.
PY - 2005/8
Y1 - 2005/8
N2 - BACKGROUND: Four visual analog scales were constructed to assess sensory and affective components of operative pain. The Surgical Pain Scales (SPS) measure pain while at rest, pain during normal activities, pain during work or exercise, and pain unpleasantness. STUDY DESIGN: Longitudinal data from 2,164 patients in a randomized trial of laparoscopic versus open hernia repair established the reliability, validity, and sensitivity to change of the SPS. Correlations and t-tests were used to determine their psychometric properties compared with the SF-36 health status instrument. RESULTS: Intraclass correlation coefficients of 0.95 for the sensory scales and 0.94 for the unpleasantness rating confirmed that the SPS produced reliable measurements. Correlations ranging from 0.44 to 0.60 between the visual analog scales and the bodily pain dimension on the SF-36 and significant differences between SPS levels for patients requiring more and less time to resume normal activities (p ≤ 0.015 to p ≤ 0.002) supported the validity of the scales. Clinical responsiveness was demonstrated by a 33.5-mm reduction (standard error = 1.4 mm) in the mean rating on a 150-mm scale measuring pain during normal activities for patients reporting postoperative improvement on the bodily pain dimension (p ≤ 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: The Surgical Pain Scales demonstrated excellent psychometric properties in this study population. The SPS can be used to compare pain levels between groups at a single point in time or to track change for individual patients over time or after operations. Individualized pain management interventions can be tailored based on the sensory and effective ratings.
AB - BACKGROUND: Four visual analog scales were constructed to assess sensory and affective components of operative pain. The Surgical Pain Scales (SPS) measure pain while at rest, pain during normal activities, pain during work or exercise, and pain unpleasantness. STUDY DESIGN: Longitudinal data from 2,164 patients in a randomized trial of laparoscopic versus open hernia repair established the reliability, validity, and sensitivity to change of the SPS. Correlations and t-tests were used to determine their psychometric properties compared with the SF-36 health status instrument. RESULTS: Intraclass correlation coefficients of 0.95 for the sensory scales and 0.94 for the unpleasantness rating confirmed that the SPS produced reliable measurements. Correlations ranging from 0.44 to 0.60 between the visual analog scales and the bodily pain dimension on the SF-36 and significant differences between SPS levels for patients requiring more and less time to resume normal activities (p ≤ 0.015 to p ≤ 0.002) supported the validity of the scales. Clinical responsiveness was demonstrated by a 33.5-mm reduction (standard error = 1.4 mm) in the mean rating on a 150-mm scale measuring pain during normal activities for patients reporting postoperative improvement on the bodily pain dimension (p ≤ 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: The Surgical Pain Scales demonstrated excellent psychometric properties in this study population. The SPS can be used to compare pain levels between groups at a single point in time or to track change for individual patients over time or after operations. Individualized pain management interventions can be tailored based on the sensory and effective ratings.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=22244457331&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jamcollsurg.2005.03.034
DO - 10.1016/j.jamcollsurg.2005.03.034
M3 - Article
C2 - 16038823
AN - SCOPUS:22244457331
SN - 1072-7515
VL - 201
SP - 245
EP - 252
JO - Journal of the American College of Surgeons
JF - Journal of the American College of Surgeons
IS - 2
ER -