title: The assessment of postoperative pain by monitoring skin conductance: results of a prospective study.
abstract: The number of fluctuations of skin conductance per second correlates with postoperative pain. The aim of this prospective study was to test the cut-off value for the number of fluctuations of skin conductance per second obtained from a previous study. Seventy-five patients were asked to quantify their level of pain on a numeric rating scale (0-10) in the recovery room. The number of fluctuations of skin conductance per second was recorded simultaneously. The number of fluctuations of skin conductance per second was different between patients with no (0.07), mild (0.16), moderate (0.28) and severe pain (0.33); p < 0.001. The tested cut-off value for the number of fluctuations of skin conductance per second (0.1) distinguished a numeric rating scale </= 3 from > 3 with 88.5% sensitivity and 67.7% specificity. The number of fluctuations of skin conductance per second may be a useful means of assessing postoperative pain.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anaesthesia and Pain Medicine, Royal Perth Hospital, Perth, WA, Australia. Thomas.ledowski@health.wa.gov.au
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ledowski
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bromilow
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Paech
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Storm
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Schug
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D005712:Galvanic Skin Response; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013511:Minor Surgical Procedures; D010147:Pain Measurement / Q000379:methods*; D010149:Postoperative Pain / Q000175:diagnosis*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity