Original Article
Comparison of Pain Scale Preferences and Pain Intensity According to Pain Scales among Turkish Patients: A Descriptive Study

Presented at the 17th National Surgery Congress, May 26–29, 2010, Ankara, Turkey.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmn.2012.08.005Get rights and content

Abstract

Pain scale preferences may vary among patients. Providing a choice of which pain scale to use might be helpful for patients. The aim of this study was to determine patient pain scale preferences and compare the level of agreement among pain scales commonly used during postoperative pain assessment. A total of 621 patients during the early postoperative period were enrolled in this descriptive study. A questionnaire form, the faces pain scale (FPS), visual analog scale (VAS), numeric rating scale (NRS), verbal descriptor scale (VDS), thermometer pain scale (TPS), McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ), Short-form McGill Pain Questionnaire (SFMPQ), and Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) were used to collect data. Most patients reported that their pain was not measured with any of the pain scales. Patient preference for pain scales were as follows: 97.4% FPS, 88.6% NRS, 84.1% VDS, 78.1% TPS, 60.1% SFMPQ, 37.0% BPI, 11.4% VAS, and 10.5% MPQ. Education was an important factor in the preferences for all scales (p < .000). The level of pain determined by the VAS did not correlate with the level of pain identified by the NRS, TPS, FPS, and VDS (p < .05). There was no difference among the levels of pain for the NRS, TPS, FPS and VDS (p > .05), but there was for the VAS (p < .05). The pain scales chosen should be reliable, valid, and able to evaluate the effects of treatment. The results suggest that the NRS, TPS, FPS, and VDS were appropriate pain rating scales for the participants in this study, and that the VAS should be used in combination with one of these scales.

Section snippets

Setting and Subjects

This study was performed at the at surgical wards of Cumhuriyet University Health Services Practice and Research Hospital (general surgery, colorectal surgery, urology, cardiovascular surgery, orthopedics, otorhinolaryngology, and neurosurgery). The number of patients per nurse was from 25 to 47 in these units. Patients ≥18 years old were recruited during the postoperative period. Their hearing and vision were intact as well as their ability to use their hands (no arthritis or fracture of the

Patients Characteristics

The patients were 89.9% married, 57.5% male, 15.3% 19–39 years old, 48.1% 40–59 years old, 36.6% were ≥60 years old, mean age 50.12 years (SD 13.51), 57.8% primary school graduates, 17.7% high school or university graduates, and 24.5% who never went to school. Regarding treatment and care, 35.3% of the patients were in general surgery, 21.6% orthopedics, 15.6% in neurosurgery, 15.5% in cardiovascular surgery, and 12.2% in urology. Among the patients, 37.7% had previous hospital experience, and

Discussion

Using a pain scale to assess pain improves patient awareness of pain management, which helps to comfort the patient and with the management of pain (Hjermstad et al., 2008; Ene, et al., 2008; Gunningberg & Idvall, 2007). However, studies have shown that nurses do not use pain scales and instead subjectively estimate pain (Akdemi, Akyar, & Gorgulu, 2008; Bacaksiz, et al., 2008; Manias, Bucknall, & Botti, 2005; Ozer, Akyurek, & Basbakkal, 2006; Sloman, Rosen, Rom, & Shir, 2005). However, studies

Conclusion

The pain scales chosen should be reliable, valid, and able to evaluate the effects of treatment. However, offering patients a choice of pain scales might improve the information reported and help providers with pain management. The findings of the present study suggest that the FPS, NRS, TPS, and VDS are the most appropriate pain scales to use for post surgical patients that can cooperate with the instructions. Not using the VAS might lead to a more accurate assessment of pain. For surgical

Acknowledgments

The authors express their thanks to Ms. Ziynet Cinar for her valuable help in data analysis and statistical consultation. They also thank the trainee nurses who helped to collect the data.

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