CLINICAL - Pain Assessment Flashcards
What are the three dimensions of pain?
Sensory-disciminative dimension
Motivational-affective dimension
Cognitive-evaluative dimension
What is the sensory-discriminative dimension of pain?
The sensory-disciminative dimension of pain determines where, when and how intense the pain is
What is the motivational-affective dimension of pain?
The motivational-affective dimension of pain encompasses how pain affect’s an individual’s feelings, emotional responses and behaviour
What is the cognitive-evaluative dimension of pain?
The cognitive-evaluative dimension of pain encompasses how pain experiences are influenced by previous experiences and knowledge
What are the three main signs of pain in animals?
Absence of normal behaviours
Presence of new ‘pain motivated behaviours’
Behavioural responses following palpation/manipulation
What are the four essential components of an effective pain scale?
Validity - measures what it is supposed to
Reliability - produce repeatable results
Measure responsiveness - measures change
Utility - can be applied in a clinical setting
What are the disadvantages of using objective, physiological, measurements to assess pain?
Objective, physiological measurements do not capture all of the dimensions of pain which is subjective and influenced by emotional and cognitive factors. Furthermore, physiological measurements vary between individuals and can be infleunced by factors unrelated to pain
List two examples of uni-directional scales that can be used to assess pain
Numerical rating scale (i.e. pain from 1 to 10)
Simple descriptive scale (i.e. pain is mild, moderate or severe)
What are the main advantages of uni-directional scales for assessing pain?
Simple to understand and use and allow for rapid evaluation of pain levels making them easy to incorporate into veterinary clinics
What is the main disadvantage of unidirectional scales for assessing pain?
The interpretation of pain levels is subjective and can vary between individuals, resulting in inconsistencies in assessments
What is a composite pain scale?
A composite pain scale is a tool used to assess and quantify pain by combining multiple indicators or dimensions of pain
Give a example of a composite pain scale
Colorado state pain scale
What are the two main advantages of a composite pain scale?
- Consider the various dimensions of pain, allowing for a more hollistic view of the animal’s pain experience
- Assessment is more consistent between different observers
What is the main disadvantage of a composite pain scale?
Composite pain scales are more complicated and time-consuming to use and thus can be challenging to incorporate into clinical practice
What is the psychometric approach to making pain scales?
This is the development of pain scales based on large-scale studies on how different individuals perceive pain in animals
Which composite pain scale has been made using a psychometric approach?
Glasgow pain scale
