FLACC Behavioral Pain Assessment Scale: a comparison with the child's self-report

The purpose of this study was to further test the validity of the Faces, Legs, Activity, Cry and Consolability (FLACC) Behavioral Pain Assessment Scale for use with children. Thirty children aged 3-7 years (5.01 +/- 1.44) who had undergone a variety of surgical procedures were observed and assessed for pain intensity at 20 + 2 hours after surgery. FLACC scores were assigned by one of the nurse investigators, and a self-report of pain using the FACES scale was obtained from the child. There were significant and positive correlations between the FLACC and FACES scores for the entire sample and for the scores of children 5-7 years of age, but not for children < age 5. These findings provide additional support for the construct validity of the FLACC Pain Assessment Tool.