Abstract
Background. Hip fracture patients represent a challenge to pain rating due to the high prevalence of cognitive impairment. Methods. Patients prospectively rated pain on the VRS. Furthermore, patients described the changes in pain after raising their leg, with one of five descriptors. Agreement between paired measures on the VRS at rest and by passive straight leg raise with a one-minute interval between ratings at rest and three-minute interval for straight leg raise was expressed by kappa coefficients. Reliability of this assessment of pain using the VRS was compared to the validity of assessing possible change in pain from the selected descriptors. Cognitive status was quantified by the short Orientation-Memory-Concentration Test. Results. 110 patients were included. Paired scores with maximum disagreement of one scale point reached 97% at rest and 95% at straight leg raise. Linear weighted kappa coefficients ranged from 0.68 (95% CI = 0.59–0.77) at leg raise to 0.75 (95% CI = 0.65–0.85) at rest. Unweighted kappa coefficients of agreement in recalled pain compared to agreement of paired VRS scores ranged from 0.57 (95% CI = 0.49–0.65) to 0.36 (95% CI = 0.31–0.41). Interpretation. The VRS is reliable for assessment of pain after hip fracture. The validity of intermittent questioning about possible change in pain intensity is poor.
Highlights
Since pain hinders early mobilization, various attempts have been made to improve pain treatment for this category of patients [1, 2]
Agreement between paired measures on the Verbal Rating Scale (VRS) at rest and by passive straight leg raise with a one-minute interval between ratings at rest and three-minute interval for straight leg raise was expressed by kappa coefficients
Unweighted kappa coefficients of agreement in recalled pain compared to agreement of paired VRS scores ranged from 0.57 to 0.36
Summary
Since pain hinders early mobilization, various attempts have been made to improve pain treatment for this category of patients [1, 2]. Hip fracture patients represent a challenge to pain rating due to the high prevalence of cognitive impairment. Agreement between paired measures on the VRS at rest and by passive straight leg raise with a one-minute interval between ratings at rest and three-minute interval for straight leg raise was expressed by kappa coefficients. Reliability of this assessment of pain using the VRS was compared to the validity of assessing possible change in pain from the selected descriptors. The validity of intermittent questioning about possible change in pain intensity is poor
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