Young Megan A, Carter Bernie, von Baeyer Carl L
Department of Psychiatry, Max Rady College of Medicine, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
Clinical Nursing Research Unit, Alder Hey Children's National Health Service Foundation Trust, Liverpool, UK.
Can J Pain. 2017 Dec 5;1(1):191-198. doi: 10.1080/24740527.2017.1398587. eCollection 2017.
: The 0-10 Verbal Numeric Rating Scale (VNRS) is commonly used to obtain self-reports of pain intensity in school-age children, but there is no standard verbal descriptor to define the most severe pain. : The aim of this study was to determine how verbal anchor phrases defining 10/10 on the VNRS are associated with children's reports of pain. . Children (= 131, age 6-11) rated hypothetical pain vignettes using six anchor phrases; scores were compared with criterion ratings. Though expected effects of age and vignette were found, no effects were found for variations in anchors. . Pediatric nurses (= 102) were asked how they would instruct a child to use the VNRS. Common themes of "the worst hurt you could ever imagine" and "the worst hurt you have ever had" to define 10/10 were identified. . Children's hospital patients (= 27, age 8-14) rated pain from a routine injection using four versions of the VNRS. Differences in ratings ranging from one to seven points on the scale occurred in the scores of 70% of children when the top anchor phrase was changed. Common themes in children's descriptions of 10/10 pain intensity were "hurts really bad" and "hurts very much." : This research supports attention to the details of instructions that health care professionals use when administering the VNRS. Use of the anchor phrase "the worst hurt you could ever imagine" is recommended for English-speaking, school-age children. Details of administration of the VNRS should be standardized and documented in research reports and in clinical use.
0至10分的言语数字评定量表（VNRS）常用于获取学龄儿童对疼痛强度的自我报告，但对于定义最严重疼痛却没有标准的言语描述词。本研究的目的是确定在VNRS上定义10分的言语锚定短语与儿童疼痛报告之间的关联。131名6至11岁的儿童使用六个锚定短语对假设的疼痛情景进行评分；将分数与标准评分进行比较。虽然发现了年龄和情景的预期效应，但未发现锚定短语变化的效应。询问了102名儿科护士他们会如何指导儿童使用VNRS。确定了用“你能想象到的最严重的疼痛”和“你经历过的最严重的疼痛”来定义10分的常见主题。27名8至14岁的儿童医院患者使用四个版本的VNRS对常规注射的疼痛进行评分。当顶部锚定短语改变时，70%的儿童评分在量表上出现了1至7分的差异。儿童对10分疼痛强度的描述中的常见主题是“疼得非常厉害”和“疼得极其严重”。本研究支持关注医疗保健专业人员在使用VNRS时所采用指导说明的细节。对于说英语的学龄儿童，建议使用锚定短语“你能想象到的最严重的疼痛”。VNRS的使用细节应标准化，并在研究报告和临床应用中记录。
