List of Clinically Tested and Validated Pain Scales

Stewart B, Lancaster G, Lawson J, Williams K, Daly J. Validation of the Alder Hey Triage Pain Score. Arch Dis Child. 2004;89(7):625-630.
Dehghani H, Tavangar H, Ghandehari A. Validity and reliability of behavioral pain scale in patients with low level of consciousness due to head trauma hospitalized in intensive care unit. Arch Trauma Res. 2014;3(1):e18608.
Keller S, Bann CM, Dodd SL, Schein J, Mendoza TR, Cleeland CS. Validity of the Brief Pain Inventory for use in documenting the outcomes of patients with noncancer pain. Clin J Pain. 2004;20(5):309-318.
Cleeland CS, Ryan KM. Pain assessment: global use of the Brief Pain Inventory. Ann Acad Med Singapore. 1994;23(2):129-138.
Feldt KS. The checklist of nonverbal pain indicators (CNPI). Pain Manag Nurs. 2000;1(1):13-21.
Busner J, Targum S. The Clinical Global Impressions Scale. Psychiatry (Edgmont). 2007;4(7):28-37.
Boitor M, Fiola JL, Gelinas C. Validation of the critical-care pain observation tool and vital signs in relation to the sensory and affective components of pain during mediastinal tube removal in postoperative cardiac surgery intensive care unit adults. J Cardiovasc Nurs. 2015 Mar 30 [Epub ahead of print].
Gelinas C, Harel F, Fillion L, Puntillo KA, Johnston CC. Sensitivity and specificity of the critical-care pain observation tool for the detection of pain in intubated adults after cardiac surgery. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2009;37(1):58-67.
Andersen T, Christensen FB, Bunger C. Evaluation of a Dallas Pain Questionnaire classification in relation to outcome in lumbar spinal fusion. Eur Spine J. 2006;15(11):1671-1685.
Doctor JN, Slater MA, Atkinson JH. The Descriptor Differential Scale of Pain Intensity: an evaluation of item and scale properties. Pain. 1995;61(2):251-260.
Gracely R, Kwilosz D. The Descriptor Differential Scale: applying psychophysical principles to clinical pain assessment. Pain. 1988;35(3):279-288.
Watanabe SM, Nekolaichuk CL, Beaumont C. The Edmonton Symptom Assessment System, a proposed tool for distress screening in cancer patients: development and refinement. Psychooncology. 2012;21(9):977-985.
Garra G, Singer AJ, Taira BR, et al. Validation of the Wong-Baker FACES Pain Rating Scale in pediatric emergency department patients. Acad Emerg Med. 2010;17(1):50-54.
Douglas ME, Randleman ML, DeLane AM, Palmer GA. Determining pain scale preference in a veteran population experiencing chronic pain. Pain Manag Nurs. 2014;15(3):625-631.
Melzack R. The McGill Pain Questionnaire. In: Melzack R, ed. Pain Measurement and Assessment. New York, NY: Raven Press; 1983:41-47.
Wheeler AH, Goolkasian P, Baird AC, Darden BV 2nd. Development of the Neck Pain and Disability Scale. Item analysis, face, and criterion-related validity. Spine. 1999;24(13):1290-1294.
Roland M, Fairbank J. The Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire and the Oswestry Disability Questionnaire. Spine. 2000;25(24):3115-3124.
Hearn J, Higginson I. Development and validation of a core outcome measure for palliative care: the palliative care outcome scale. Qual Health Care. 1999;8(4):219-227.
Ohnhaus EE, Adler R. Methodological problems in the measurement of pain: a comparison between the verbal rating scale and the visual analog scale. Pain. 1975;1(4):379-384.

Last updated on: March 14, 2017

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List of Clinically Tested and Validated Pain Scales

Chapter 1: Introduction

Chapter 2: Acute Pain

Chapter 3: Chronic Pain

Chapter 4: Assessment

Chapter 5: Monitoring

Chapter 6: Tapering Opioids

Chapter 7: Substance Use Disorders

Additional Resources

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