Fundamentals of Nursing Q 405
In caring for a young child with pain, which assessment tool is the most useful?
A. Simple descriptive pain intensity scale
B. 0-10 numeric pain scale
C. Faces pain-rating scale
D. McGill-Melzack pain questionnaire
Correct Answer: C. Faces pain-rating scale
The Faces pain rating scale (depicting smiling, neutral, frowning, crying, etc.) is appropriate for young children who may have difficulty describing pain or understanding the correlation of pain to numerical or verbal descriptors. The Faces Pain Scale-Revised (FPS-R) is a self-report measure of pain intensity developed for children. It was adapted from the Faces Pain Scale to make it possible to score the sensation of pain on the widely accepted 0-to-10 metric. The scale shows a close linear relationship with visual analog pain scales across the age range of 4-16 years. It is easy to administer and requires no equipment except for the photocopied faces. The other tools require abstract reasoning abilities to make analogies and use of advanced vocabulary.
Option A: The Simple Descriptive Scale exhibits degrees of pain intensity (no pain, mild pain, moderate pain, and severe pain). Risk factors for the development of chronic pain have been a major topic in pain research in the past two decades. Now, it has been realized that psychological and psychosocial factors may substantially influence pain perception in patients with chronic pain and thus may influence the surgical outcome.
Option B: This pain scale is most commonly used. A person rates their pain on a scale of 0 to 10 or 0 to 5. Zero means “no pain,” and 5 or 10 means “the worst possible pain.” These pain intensity levels may be assessed upon initial treatment, or periodically after treatment.
Option D: The McGill pain questionnaire, or MPQ, is one of the most widely used multidimensional pain scales in the world. In the MPQ, the evaluation of pain is divided into three categories: sensory, affective, and evaluative. The questionnaire is self-reported and allows individuals to describe the quality and intensity of their pain by using 78 adjectives in 20 different sections.