Comparison of skin conductance measurements and subjective pain scores in children with minor injuries.
OBJECTIVE
Objective measures of perceived pain may aid clinicians in decision-making regarding analgesia. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of an algesimeter to assess the pain response of children to minor injury when compared with self-report.


METHODS
A commercially available skin conductance algesimeter was used to record pain in children presenting with a minor injury to a district general hospital. The recordings were compared with self-reported pain scores using the Wong-Baker FACES(®) Pain Rating Scale.


RESULTS
Sixty-seven children below 16 years of age (36 females, 53.7%, mean age 11.9 years, standard deviation 3.1 years) were assessed. There was a significant correlation between self-reported pain and number of fluctuations in skin conductance per second for girls (r = 0.325, p = 0.027), but not for boys (r = 0.160, p = 0.194). There was no significant association between self-reported pain and number of fluctuation in skin conductance per second and patient age.


CONCLUSIONS
There was a significant correlation between self-reported pain and the number of fluctuations in skin conductance in girls, but not boys. There may be a number of reasons for this gender variation, including difficulty in rating pain and lack of sensitivity in the pain rating scale.
Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, North Shields, UK; School of Medicine, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. strehle@doctors.org.uk.
Eugen-Matthias
EM
Strehle
William K
WK
Gray
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005712:Galvanic Skin Response; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010146:Pain / Q000209:etiology; D010147:Pain Measurement / Q000379:methods*; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000150:complications
Algesimetry; Children; Pain; Pain rating scale; Skin conductance algesimeter