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Curr Opin Anaesthesiol · Oct 2015
ReviewAcute pain assessment tools: let us move beyond simple pain ratings.
- Debra B Gordon.
- Integrated Pain Care Program, Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine Harborview, Seattle, Washington, USA.
- Curr Opin Anaesthesiol. 2015 Oct 1; 28 (5): 565-9.
Purpose Of ReviewThis review highlights challenges and current trends in tools used to assess acute pain across the lifespan.Recent FindingsA plethora of similar assessment tools exist for acute pain, most focused on self-report of pain intensity. Attempts to improve the frequency and visibility of pain assessment by prompting pain as 'the fifth vital sign' resulted in unintended consequences, creating a pressing need for a conceptual shift to multidimensional assessment of acute pain.SummaryValid and pragmatic assessment of pain is essential for effective pain management. Unidimensional scales that capture self-reported pain intensity ratings undervalue to the complexity of the pain experience. Pain is a biopsychosocial experience and assessment is a complex social transaction and an exchange of the meaning of pain that demands a more comprehensive approach.
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