Development of an Acute Pain Assessment Tool for Patients in Post-anesthesia Care Units.

BACKGROUND

Post-operative pain is a common form of acute pain. Objective pain assessment in post-anesthesia care units after surgery is useful regardless of the patient's condition.

AIMS: This study aimed to develop and evaluate an acute pain assessment tool for patients in post-anesthesia care units.

DESIGN

This was a cross-sectional observational study comprising two stages: scale development and psychometric evaluation.

METHODS

Scale items were developed based on a literature review and content validity by experts. The validity and interrater reliability of the pain scale were evaluated using data from 218 patients admitted to the post-anesthesia care unit at a university hospital. A receiver operating characteristic curve was used to identify the sensitivity and specificity for determining the cutoff point for acute pain.

RESULTS

We developed an objective acute pain scale, called the APA5, which ranges from 0-10 and comprises behavioral (facial and verbal expressions and body movement) and physiological (changes in heart rate and blood pressure) responses. The APA5 is valid and reliable for assessing acute pain in the recovery room. Sensitivity and specificity were acceptable when the cutoff was 2 out of 10 points.

CONCLUSIONS

The APA5 is an easy and simple tool for measuring pain in patients in post-anesthesia care units who have difficulties with self-reporting.