Lotan Meir, Icht Michal
Department of Physical Therapy, Ariel University, Ariel 40700, Israel.
Israeli Rett Syndrome Association, National Evaluation Team, National Rett Syndrome Clinic, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Ramat-Gan 526200, Israel.
Diagnostics (Basel). 2023 Jan 22;13(3):401. doi: 10.3390/diagnostics13030401.
Pain assessment poses a challenge in several groups of clients, yet specific barriers arise when it comes to pain assessment of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), due mostly to communication challenges preventing valid and reliable self-reports. Despite increased interest in pain assessment of those diagnosed with IDD within recent years, little is known about pain behavior in this group. The present article overviews the current state of pain diagnosis for individuals with IDD, focusing on existing pain assessment scales. In addition, it suggests technological developments offering new ways to diagnose existence of pain in this population, such as a Smartphone App for caregivers based on unique acoustic characteristics of pain-related vocal responses, or the use of smart wearable shirts that enable continuous surveillance of vital physiological signs. Such novel technological solutions may improve diagnosis of pain in the IDD population, as well as in other individuals with complex communication needs, to provide better pain treatment and enhance overall quality of life.
疼痛评估对几类患者群体构成了挑战，然而，在对智力和发育障碍（IDD）患者进行疼痛评估时，会出现一些特定障碍，这主要是由于沟通困难阻碍了有效且可靠的自我报告。尽管近年来对诊断为IDD的患者的疼痛评估越来越受关注，但对于该群体的疼痛行为却知之甚少。本文概述了IDD患者疼痛诊断的现状，重点介绍了现有的疼痛评估量表。此外，本文还提出了一些技术发展成果，这些成果为诊断该人群的疼痛状况提供了新方法，比如一款基于疼痛相关语音反应的独特声学特征为护理人员设计的智能手机应用程序，或者使用能够持续监测重要生理体征的智能可穿戴衬衫。此类新颖的技术解决方案可能会改善IDD人群以及其他有复杂沟通需求个体的疼痛诊断，从而提供更好的疼痛治疗并提高整体生活质量。
