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Assessment and Evaluation of the High Risk Neonate: The NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale
Published on: August 25, 2014
Neonatal Pain, Agitation, and Sedation Scale's use, reliability, and validity: a systematic review
Mikayla E Morgan1, Stephanie Kukora2,3, Michelle Nemshak4
1School of Nursing, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA. mmikayla@umich.edu.
Abstract:
The Neonatal Pain, Agitation, and Sedation Scale (N-PASS) is recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics to measure neonatal pain and sedation. However, little is known regarding its reliability and validity for diverse neonatal subpopulations. Twenty-nine studies were included in our review, demonstrating broad application of N-PASS and good or excellent reliability and validity for various neonatal subpopulations. Our systematic review found N-PASS to be valid and reliable for many but not all neonatal subpopulations. There is a lack of support for N-PASS reliability and validity for measuring prolonged pain and sedation in nonmechanically ventilated infants and for acute pain in postoperative infants in any gestational age category. Overall, N-PASS is a psychometrically sound and pragmatic instrument evaluating pain and sedation for most neonatal populations. Future research using N-PASS is encouraged to evaluate and report its validity and reliability, especially for neonatal subpopulations not included in this review.
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