Collegium Helveticum, University of Zurich and ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
PLoS One. 2012;7(11):e51014. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0051014. Epub 2012 Nov 30.
Pain measurement largely depends on the ability to rate personal subjective pain. Nevertheless, pain scales can be difficult to use during medical procedures. We hypothesized that pain can be expressed intuitively and in real-time by squeezing a pressure sensitive device. We developed such a device called "Painmouse(®)" and tested it on healthy volunteers and patients in two separate studies: Sixteen male participants rated different painful heat stimuli via Painmouse(®) and a Visual Analog Scale (VAS). Retest was done one week later. Participants clearly distinguished four distinct pain levels using both methods. Values from the first and second sessions were comparable. Thereafter, we tested the Painmouse(®) by asking twelve female and male leg- ulcer patients to continuously squeeze it during the whole length of their wound-dressing change. Patients rated each step of dressing change on an 11-point numeric rating scale. Painmouse(®) ratings were highest for the wound cleaning and debridement step. Application of the new dressing was not evaluated as very painful. On the other hand, numeric scale ratings did not differentiate between dressing change steps. We conclude that the Painmouse(®) enables pain assessment even under difficult clinical circumstances, such as during a medical treatment in elderly patients.
疼痛的测量在很大程度上取决于个人主观疼痛的评分能力。然而，在医疗过程中，疼痛量表可能难以使用。我们假设通过按压压力感应装置可以直观且实时地表达疼痛。我们开发了一种名为“Painmouse（®）”的设备，并在两项独立的研究中对健康志愿者和患者进行了测试：16 名男性参与者通过 Painmouse（®）和视觉模拟量表（VAS）对不同的疼痛热刺激进行评分。一周后进行了重测。参与者使用两种方法清楚地区分了四个不同的疼痛级别。第一次和第二次测试的结果具有可比性。此后，我们要求 12 名女性和男性腿部溃疡患者在整个换药过程中持续按压 Painmouse（®），以此来测试它。患者使用 11 分数字评分量表对换药的每一步进行评分。在清洁和清创步骤中，Painmouse（®）的评分最高。应用新的敷料时并不被认为是非常痛苦的。另一方面，数字评分量表并不能区分换药步骤。我们得出结论，即使在困难的临床情况下，如老年患者的医疗治疗过程中，Painmouse（®）也可以进行疼痛评估。
