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Are Pediatric Pain Self-Report Scores Accurate?
Shannon Hall-Million1, Patricia Kunz Howard
1Department of Nursing, the School of Health Sciences, Midway University, Midway, Kentucky (Dr Hall-Million); Makenna David Pediatric Emergency Department, University of Kentucky Chandler Hospital, Lexington (Dr Hall-Million); and Emergency Services, University of Kentucky Healthcare, Lexington (Dr Howard).
Insights
This study evaluated clinically significant differences in acute pediatric pain using self-report scales. Findings show stable minimum clinically significant difference estimates for the Faces Pain Scale-Revised and Color Analog Scale in children.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Nursing
- Pain Management
- Evidence-Based Practice
Background:
- Accurate assessment of acute pain in children is crucial for effective management.
- Advanced practice nurses (APNs) require reliable tools to determine clinically significant pain differences.
- Existing data on clinically significant differences in pediatric pain scales need further validation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate recent evidence on clinically significant differences in acute pediatric pain.
- To translate these findings into practice for the advanced practice nurse (APN) role.
- To determine minimum (MCSD) and ideal clinically significant differences (ICSD) using specific pain scales.
Main Methods:
- A case study module was used to review evidence.
- 314 pediatric patients with acute pain were evaluated.
- The Faces Pain Scale-Revised (FPS-R) and the Color Analog Scale (CAS) were utilized.
Main Results:
- Stable minimum clinically significant difference (MCSD) estimates were found for both FPS-R and CAS.
- These MCSD estimates demonstrated generalizability for acute pediatric pain.
- Ideal clinically significant difference (ICSD) estimates were not stable across different pain groupings.
Conclusions:
- The findings provide stable MCSD estimates for FPS-R and CAS in pediatric acute pain.
- APNs can utilize these stable MCSD estimates for improved pain assessment and management in children.
- Further research is needed to understand the instability of ICSD estimates in pediatric pain.
Abstract:
Review of recent evidence with translation to practice for the advanced practice nurse (APN) role is presented using a case study module for "Clinically Significant Differences in Acute Pain Measured on Self-Report Pain Scales in Children." The study results showed that there were 314 pediatric patients with acute pain evaluated for minimum (MCSD) and ideal clinically significant differences (ICSD) using the Faces Pain Scale-Revised (FPS-R) and the Color Analog Scale (CAS). These data reveal stable MCSD estimates for the FPS-R and the CAS with generalizability for acute pediatric pain. The ICSD estimates did not prove to be stable for different groupings of acute pain. The implications and clinical relevance of these findings for APNs are discussed, highlighting best evidence.
