title: Clinimetric evaluation of the pain observation scale for young children in children aged between 1 and 4 years after ear, nose, and throat surgery.
abstract: This study assessed the reliability, validity, and responsiveness of a new pain measure for children aged 1 to 4 years that was developed from the Children's Hospital of Ontario Pain Scale and its Neonatal Infant Pain Scale. Pain in 311 children, aged 1 to 4 years, was measured by two observers at fixed intervals after adenotonsillectomy (n = 114), adenotomy (n = 109), or insertion of ventilation tubes (grommets) (n = 88) until discharge using a dichotomous pain scale of 9 behavioral and physiological categories. The scale proved to be strongly homogeneous. The interobserver agreement was substantial for 7 items. On these final 7 items, the ability to distinguish between patients with differing degrees of pain and the sensitivity to detect changes over time within each patient were substantial. The resulting Pain Observation Scale for Young Children is reliable and easy to use for assessment of short- and longer-lasting pain after ear, nose, and throat surgery and may be used for assessing pain with other conditions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Emma Children's Hospital, Academic Medical Center of the University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands. W.J.Boelen@AMC.UVA.NL
authors.forename: W J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Boelen-van der Loo
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Scheffer
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: de Haan
authors.forename: C J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: de Groot
mesh_terms: D000233:Adenoidectomy / Q000009:adverse effects*; D000234:Adenoids / Q000601:surgery; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008876:Middle Ear Ventilation / Q000009:adverse effects*; D015588:Observer Variation; D010147:Pain Measurement / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D010149:Postoperative Pain / Q000175:diagnosis*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D014068:Tonsillectomy / Q000009:adverse effects*