The Clinical journal of pain
-
Comparative Study Clinical Trial Controlled Clinical Trial
Pain in 4- to 6-year-old children receiving intramuscular injections: a comparison of the Faces Pain Scale with other self-report and behavioral measures.
The main objective was to compare the utility of the Faces Pain Scale (Bieri et al., 1990) with three alternative self-report measures of pain intensity in children, as well as with pain ratings based on observations of the child's behavior. ⋯ The Faces Pain Scale was simple to use, readily understood by the children, and showed a realistic distribution of scores with respect to the type of pain being measured. With the exception of verbal reactions (which were not meaningfully related to self-report), observer ratings based on detailed coding of the child's behavior correlated only poorly to moderately well with self-report scores (r = .39 to r = .58). Similarly, although confident in their judgments, the nurses' ratings showed only moderate agreement with those of the children. In estimating the child's pain, all observers appeared to appropriately weigh changes in the child's facial behavior, which showed evidence of being the most sensitive behavioral index to the intensity of short sharp (needle) pain in 4 to 6 years olds.
-
To assess the sensitivity, specificity, and predictive value (PV) of stress infrared telethermography (IRT) in the complex regional pain syndrome, type I (CRPS-I). ⋯ Stress IRT is a sensitive and specific indicator of CRPS-I.
-
The Coping Strategies Questionnaire (CSQ), a measure of coping in chronic pain patients, was subjected to item-level exploratory factor analysis. ⋯ Principal components analysis using a varimax rotation procedure identified nine factors that accounted for 54.5% of the variance. Of these nine factors, the first five represent subscales of the original CSQ subscales. The catastrophizing subscale replicated with significant loadings for all six original items, and ignoring sensations replicated with five of six items. Factors representing reinterpreting pain sensations, coping self-statements, and diverting attention subscales also appeared. The items from the praying and hoping subscale split into separate praying and hoping factors (factors 6 and 8). When reliability coefficients were calculated, factors 7 through 9 had unacceptably low internal consistency and thus were not considered stable factors. Correlations between factors 1 through 6 and other measures of psychological and physical functioning were calculated in the construct validation portion of this study. Previously found relationships were replicated in that the correlations between CSQ factor scores and measures of pain, depression, and disability were in the same direction in this data set as those previously reported.
-
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Manipulation of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation variables has no effect on two models of experimental pain in humans.
Two separate studies investigated the hypoalgesic effect of manipulation of Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) parameters on two models of experimental pain: the Submaximal Effort Tourniquet Technique and cold-pressor pain. For the first study, 32 healthy subjects (16 male and 16 female) attended once for the purpose of cold-pressor pain induction that involved immersion of the nondominant hand in a water bath at 0 degree C. Subjects were allocated to Control, Placebo, or 1 of 2 treatment groups (110 or 4-Hz TENS). ⋯ Measurements of "current pain intensity" and "worst pain experienced" were obtained via the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and the McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ), respectively. Analysis of variance performed on both sets of collected data revealed no significant differences between any of the groups, thus indicating no apparent relevance of manipulation of TENS parameters using these models of pain. Several hypotheses are suggested to explain these findings.