Pain assessment in Nigerians--visual analogue scale and verbal rating scale compared.

The usefulness of 2 methods of pain assessment was determined in a cohort of Nigerians who had pain as a symptom and were receiving physiotherapy for various indication. The English and Yoruba versions of two Pain Rating Scales, the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and Verbal Rating Scale (VRS) with 1 to 4 or 1 to 5 intensity scales (VRS-4 or VRS-5) were employed for the assessment of pain in 100 patients. The mean Pain Score on the 4-point VRS Scale was 2.49 +/- 0.72 for the 5-point VRS 2.1 +/- 1.18 and for the VAS 4.93 +/- 2.5. Correlation analysis for corresponding groups of patients showed a significant positive relationship between the VAS and VRS-4 (r = 0.68 P<0.001) VAS and VRS-5 (r = 0.64 P <0.001) indicating that both VAS and VRS constitute useful tools for pain assessment in Nigerian patients.