Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2006 Autumn;11(3):157-62.
doi: 10.1155/2006/197616.

Children's self-reports of pain intensity: scale selection, limitations and interpretation

Carl L von Baeyer  1
Affiliations
Review

Children's self-reports of pain intensity: scale selection, limitations and interpretation

Carl L von Baeyer. Pain Res Manag. 2006 Autumn.

Abstract
in English, French

Most children aged five years and older can provide meaningful self-reports of pain intensity if they are provided with age-appropriate tools and training. Self-reports of pain intensity are an oversimplification of the complexity of the experience of pain, but one that is necessary to evaluate and titrate pain-relieving treatments. There are many sources of bias and error in self-reports of pain, so ratings need to be interpreted in light of information from other sources such as direct observation of behaviour, knowledge of the circumstances of the pain and parents' reports. The pain intensity scales most commonly used with children - faces scales, numerical rating scales, visual analogue scales and others - are briefly introduced. The selection, limitations and interpretation of self-report scales are discussed.

À partir de cinq ans, la plupart des enfants peuvent fournir une autoévaluation valable de l’intensité de leur douleur si on leur fournit des outils et des explications adaptés à leur âge. Les autoévaluations de l’intensité de la douleur sont une sursimplification de la complexité de l’expérience de la douleur, mais elles s’imposent pour évaluer et titrer les traitements analgésiques. Il existe de nombreuses sources de biais et d’erreurs dans les autoévaluations de la douleur, et c’est pourquoi elles doivent être interprétées à la lumière de l’information tirée d’autres provenances, telles que l’observation directe du comportement, des connaissances et des circonstances de la douleur ainsi que le compte rendu des parents. Les échelles d’intensité de la douleur les plus utilisées chez les enfants, soit les échelles des visages, les échelles d’évaluation numérique, les échelles visuelles analogiques et d’autres, sont présentées brièvement. La sélection, les limites et l’interprétation des échelles d’autoévaluation sont présentées.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1)
Figure 1)
The Faces Pain Scale – Revised (18). Scored 0, 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10. Available with instructions in many languages at <www.painsourcebook.ca>. Reprinted with permission. © 2001 International Association for the Study of Pain
Figure 2)
Figure 2)
An estimate of the proportion of children at different ages who are able to provide reliable self-report of pain when given an age-appropriate scale under optimal conditions. © CL von Baeyer, 2004
Figure 3)
Figure 3)
Pain trajectories for two hypothetical postsurgical patients. One cannot conclude that Pat is experiencing more pain than Chris, but the analgesics appear to be helping both patients. PCA Patient-controlled analgesia; VAS Visual analogue scale. © CL von Baeyer, 2006
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Campbell J. American Pain Society: Advocacy & Policy. Pain: The Fifth Vital Sign. 2006. < www.ampainsoc.org/advocacy/fifth.htm> (Version current at July 17, 2006)
    1. Jackson M. Pain: The Fifth Vital Sign. New York: Crown; 2002.
    1. Craig KD, Lilley CM, Gilbert CA. Social barriers to optimal pain management in infants and children. Clin J Pain. 1996;12:232–42. - PubMed
    1. Craig K, Giamberardino M, editors. 10th World Congress on Pain. San Diego: IASP Press; 2002. Pain 2002 – An updated review. Refresher Course Syllabus. Pain in infants and children: Sociodevelopmental variations on a theme.
    1. Franck LS, Greenberg CS, Stevens B. Pain assessment in infants and children. Pediatr Clin North Am. 2000;47:487–512. - PubMed