title: Interpretation of the large red-and-white visual analog scale by children compared with adults.
abstract: The red-and-white visual analog scale (VAS) is a modification of the traditional VAS. The purpose of this study was to compare how children of various ages and adults rate their anticipatory pain intensity on the red-and-white VAS. One hundred children were interviewed as part of the anesthesiologist's preoperative visit before elective eye surgery. For comparison, 50 healthy adults were interviewed in a similar manner. The medians and ranges describing mild, moderate, and severe pain, or pain intensity at which medicine would be requested, did not differ between preschool children, young schoolchildren, and adolescents or between children and adults. The median score of anticipated need for pain medication was 50% of the maximum for children.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine, Helsinki University Central Hospital, Helsinki, Finland. katri.hamunen@hus.fi
authors.forename: Katri
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hamunen
authors.forename: Eeva-Liisa
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Maunuksela
authors.forename: Klaus T
authors.initials: KT
authors.lastname: Olkkola
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001294:Attitude to Health; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009730:Nursing Assessment; D015403:Nursing Evaluation Research; D010147:Pain Measurement / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000523:psychology; D010149:Postoperative Pain / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D010371:Pediatric Nursing; D000297:Psychology, Adolescent; D002666:Psychology, Child; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires