Pain measurement in hospitalized adults with sickle cell painful episodes.

The intensity, spatial distribution, and description of pain during the evolution of painful crises were studied in 23 hospitalized adult patients with sickle cell anemia during 60 acute painful episodes. The 10 cm Visual Analog Scale was used to measure the intensity of pain. The average pain severity score upon admission was 9.5 +/- 0.63 (mean +/- SD) and upon discharge was 4.8 +/- 0.97. The dose or frequency of administering narcotic analgesics was reduced when the daily score of pain decreased by 2 or more on the scale. Painful areas of the body most frequently affected included the back, legs, knees, arms, chest, and abdomen in descending order. The words most often selected to describe the pain were throbbing, sharp, dull, and stabbing. Our data indicate that: (1) the use of a visual analog scale is feasible in hospitalized adult patients with sickle cell painful crisis; (2) the application of this scale is clinically useful in the titration of analgesics during crises; and (3) the use of this scale may be utilized to assist in the discharge planning of these patients.