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Self-Report Pain
Louise Rose, Lynn Haslam, Craig Dale, Leasa Knechtel and Michael McGillion
Am J Crit Care 2013;22:246-255 doi: 10.4037/ajcc2013200
2013 American Association of Critical-Care Nurses
Published online http://www.ajcconline.org
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AJCC, the American Journal of Critical Care, is the official peer-reviewed research
journal of the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN), published
bimonthly by The InnoVision Group, 101 Columbia, Aliso Viejo, CA 92656.
Telephone: (800) 899-1712, (949) 362-2050, ext. 532. Fax: (949) 362-2049.
Copyright 2013 by AACN. All rights reserved.
B EHAVIORAL PAIN
ASSESSMENT TOOL
FOR CRITICALLY ILL
ADULTS UNABLE TO
SELF-REPORT PAIN
By Louise Rose, RN, BN, MN, PhD, ICU Cert, Lynn Haslam, RN, BScN(Hons), MN,
NP(Hons), Craig Dale, RN, BScN(Hons), MN, CNCC(C), Leasa Knechtel, RN,
BScN(Hons), MN, CNCC(C), and Michael McGillion, RN, BScN, PhD
CNE 1.0 Hour implementation of the tool. Patients were prospectively screened
for eligibility; data were extracted retrospectively.
Results Data were recorded for a maximum of 72 hours before
and after implementation of the tool in the cardiovascular inten-
Notice to CNE enrollees:
sive care unit (130 patients before and 132 after) and in the
A closed-book, multiple-choice examination
following this article tests your understanding of medical/surgical/trauma unit (59 patients before and 52 after).
the following objectives: Proportion of pain assessment intervals with pain assessment
documented increased from 15% to 64% (P < .001) in the car-
1. Describe key elements of the behavioral assess- diovascular unit and from 22% to 80% (P < .001) in the other
ment Critical-Care Pain Observation Tool unit. Median total dose of opioid analgesics decreased from 5
(CPOT). mg to 4 mg in the cardiovascular unit (P = .02) and increased
2. Evaluate effects of CPOT with change in prac- from 27 mg to 75 mg (P = .002) in the other unit. Median total
tice for documentation and administration of
dose of benzodiazepines decreased from 12 mg to 2 mg (P <
analgesics and sedatives.
.001) in the cardiovascular unit and remained unchanged in
3. Compare results among studies regarding com-
the other unit. Increased documentation of pain assessment
pliance with pain assessment documentation
and practice recommendations. was associated with increased age in the cardiovascular unit
and with decreased maximum scores on the Sequential Organ
To read this article and take the CNE test online, Failure Assessment in the other unit.
visit www.ajcconline.org and click CNE Articles Conclusion Implementation of the tool increased frequency
in This Issue. No CNE test fee for AACN members. of pain assessment and appeared to influence administration
doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.4037/ajcc2013200
2013;22:246-255)
246 AJCC AMERICAN JOURNAL OF CRITICAL CARE, May 2013, Volume 22, No. 3 www.ajcconline.org
Several behavioral pain assessment tools7-11 are of patients, including trauma and cardiothoracic
now available that facilitate detection of pain expe- surgery patients. We hypothesized that implementa-
rienced by critically ill patients unable to communi- tion of the CPOT would increase documentation of
cate. Systematic pain assessment, with either patient pain assessment and influence administration of
self-reporting or use of behavioral pain assessment analgesics and sedatives. Our primary objective was
tools as appropriate, can improve patients outcomes. to determine the effects on the frequency of docu-
In a large multicenter observational study,12 pain mentation of pain assessment (pain scores and nar-
assessment was associated with reductions in the dura- rative) and on the administration of analgesics and
tion of mechanical ventilation and ICU stay. In a sedatives in patients unable to self-report pain. Our
small study13 involving patients in a neurotrauma secondary objectives were to determine patient fac-
ICU, introduction of the Nonverbal Pain Scale9 tors associated with documented pain assessment
increased documentation of pain assessments and and opioid administration and to
decreased recalled severity of the pain patients examine the impact of CPOT imple-
experienced. More recently, Glinas et al14 reported mentation on ICU length of stay and
Systematic pain
increased pain documentation and decreased admin- the duration of mechanical ventilation. assessment
istration of analgesic and sedative agents after intro-
duction of the Critical-Care Pain Observation Tool Methods improves patients
(CPOT) in a small mixed ICU population (30 patients Study Design, Participants, and outcomes, reduc-
before, 30 at 3 months, and 30 at 12 months after Setting
implementation). However, few studies have evalu- A before-and-after design was ing mechanical
ated the effect of these tools on pain assessment and used to examine the effect of CPOT ventilation time
management practices; most published studies7,8,14 implementation in 2 ICUs at Sunny-
have been conducted by investigators involved in brook Health Sciences Centre, a 600- and length of stay.
the development and or validation of the tools. bed university-affiliated hospital in
Our goal was to determine the effect of imple- Toronto, Ontario. The ICUs were a 20-bed mixed
menting the CPOT7 in 2 ICUs of a university-affiliated medical/surgical/trauma ICU (CRCU) that admits
hospital that provide services to a mixed population more than 1100 patients annually and a 14-bed car-
diovascular ICU (CVICU) that admits 1150 patients
each year. Both ICUs functioned as closed intensivist-
About the Authors led units. Each week, the 20-bed CRCU was overseen
Louise Rose is a Lawrence S. Bloomberg limited-term
professor in critical care, Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty
by 2 intensivists; the 14-bed CVICU was supervised
of Nursing, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, by 1 intensivist. A team of medical trainees, includ-
Lynn Haslam is an advanced practice nurse, Department ing fellows and residents, supported each intensivist
of Anaesthesia, and Leasa Knechtel is the director of
nursing education, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre,
to provide 24-hour care. These ICUs employed more
Toronto, Ontario, Craig Dale is an advanced practice than 100 (CRCU) and 65 registered nurses (CVICU)
nurse, Department of Trauma, Emergency and Critical in full- and part-time positions.
Care, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, and a PhD
candidate, Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing,
The CPOT consists of 4 domains: facial
and Michael McGillion is an assistant professor, Lawrence expression, body movement, muscle tension, and
S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing, and a member of the compliance with the ventilator (or vocalization for
board of directors of the Canadian Pain Society.
nonintubated patients). Each domain is scored from
Corresponding author: Louise Rose, Lawrence S. Bloomberg 0 to 2, with a maximum score of 8. The tool has
Faculty of Nursing, University of Toronto, 155 College
St, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5T IP8 (e-mail: louise.rose content validity, moderate to high interrater relia-
@utoronto.ca). bility, discriminate validity, and moderate criterion
www.ajcconline.org AJCC AMERICAN JOURNAL OF CRITICAL CARE, May 2013, Volume 22, No. 3 247
248 AJCC AMERICAN JOURNAL OF CRITICAL CARE, May 2013, Volume 22, No. 3 www.ajcconline.org
CVICU CRCU
Abbreviations: CRCU, medical/surgical/trauma unit; CVICU, cardiovascular intensive care unit; ICU, intensive care unit; IQR, interquartile range.
a P < .05 before and after study phases.
b The maximum Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score22 was calculated by summing the worst (greatest) scores for all 6 components of the
SOFA score recorded daily during inclusion in the study. The 6 components of the SOFA score are respiratory (ratio of PaO2 to fraction of inspired oxygen),
coagulation (platelets), liver (bilirubin), cardiovascular (hypotension), central nervous system (score on Glasgow Coma Scale), and renal (creatinine). Each
is scored from 0 (no organ failure) to 4, with a maximum score of 24.
www.ajcconline.org AJCC AMERICAN JOURNAL OF CRITICAL CARE, May 2013, Volume 22, No. 3 249
CVICU CRCU
Eligible hoursa 1321, 3 (2-6) 893, 3 (2-6) .20 2390, 37 (14-72) 2627, 68 (26-72) .09
PAIs 633, 3 (2-6) 519, 3 (2-5) .18 580, 9 (3-18) 646, 17 (7-18) .08
PAIs with pain assessment (all) 180, 1 (0-2) 341, 2 (1-3) <.001 213, 2 (1-5) 516, 11 (5-16) <.001
PAIs with pain assessment (eligible)b 96, 0 (0-1) 333, 2 (1-3) <.001 127, 1 (1-4) 515, 11 (5-16) <.001
Narrative episodes (all) 254, 1 (0-2) 172, 1 (1-2) .001 336, 3 (2-8) 310, 2 (2-8) .56
Narrative episodes (eligible) 130, 0 (0-1) 147, 1 (1-2) <.001 262, 2 (1-7) 218, 3 (1-6) .93
Abbreviations: CRCU, medical/surgical/trauma unit; CVICU, cardiovascular intensive care unit; IQR, interquartile range; PAIs, pain assessment intervals.
a Refers to the number of hours of data collection during which patients remained eligible for the study.
b Excludes PAIs coded as 2 (ambiguous as to whether documented assessment referred to pain, agitation, or delirium because interventions for manage-
ment of agitation and delirium coincided with documentation) and 4 (documentation of analgesia given, though no assessment data recorded).
CPOT score was 0 (interquartile range [IQR], 0-2), determined by using the Kaplan-Meier method,
and 28 of the 274 documented scores (10%) were 3 decreased from 2.0 (IQR, 1.0-5.0) days to 1.8 (IQR,
or greater, indicating the presence of pain.23 For 11 of 1.0-3.0) days (P = .007); no difference was found in
the 28 scores (39%), patients medical records had the CRCU (median, 5.9; IQR, 2.9-13.6 days before
no documentation of administration of an analgesic. and median, 7.0; IQR, 5.0-14.7 days after). No dif-
For CRCU patients, the median score was 4 (IQR, ference was found in the duration of mechanical
1-5), and 104 of the 693 scores (15%) were 3 or ventilation before and after CPOT implementation
greater; for 43 scores (41%), medical records had no in either ICU. The CVICU median was 0.6 (IQR,
documentation of administration of an analgesic. 0.3-0.8) days before CPOT and 0.5 (IQR, 0.3-0.8)
Table 3 presents median total and hourly doses days after implementation. The CRCU median was
of analgesic and sedative agents administered before 3.9 (IQR, 1.4-10.7) days before implementation and
and after CPOT implementation. Median total opi- 5.9 (IQR, 3.0-9.1) days after use of the CPOT began.
oid equivalent doses decreased by 1 mg in the
CVICU (P < .001) and increased by 48 mg in the Discussion
CRCU (P < .001). The total dose of benzodiazepines Our findings indicate successful implementa-
decreased in the CVICU by 10 mg (P < .001), but tion of the CPOT in terms of improved compliance
remained unchanged in the CRCU. In the CVICU, with regular documentation of pain assessment in
both before and after CPOT implementation, 2 ICUs with no previous formal use of this, or any
higher total opioid doses were received by sicker other, behavioral pain assessment tool. Although
patients (higher maximum SOFA scores) and by we showed improved compliance with the policy-
patients admitted for medical indications. In the recommended frequency of documented pain
CRCU, after CPOT implementation, patients admit- assessment, we did not achieve compliance rates
ted for medical indications received less total opioid higher than 80%. Although 100% is obviously
compared with patients admitted after surgery or preferable, 80% compliance may be acceptable in
trauma (P = .001), when adjustments were made for ICUs with large numbers of nurses, staff turnover,
age, sex, number of invasive devices, maximum SOFA and acutely ill patients. The rate was also a marked
score, and duration of ICU stay; no differences were improvement from compliance at baseline. A simi-
noted before CPOT implementation. lar compliance rate for documented pain assessment
Accounting for the number of PAIs, admission was reported by Topolovec-Vranic et al,13 whereas
category, sex, and maximum SOFA score, increased Glinas et al14 reported a median of 12 documented
age was associated with increased documentation assessments (every 2 hours) per 24 hours of ICU
of pain assessment in the CVICU. In the CRCU, stay 12 months after CPOT implementation,
decreased maximum SOFA scores were associated although compliance cannot be calculated because
with increased documentation (Table 4). In the institutional recommendations for frequency of
CVICU, the estimated median duration of ICU stay, documentation were not described.
250 AJCC AMERICAN JOURNAL OF CRITICAL CARE, May 2013, Volume 22, No. 3 www.ajcconline.org
CVICU CRCU
Numerous observational studies24-26 have indi- medication and of the effect of the medication is a
cated poor compliance with various evidence-based central tenet of medication administration that
practice recommendations, indicating that imple- guides initiation, escalation, and discontinuation of
mentation of the recommendations remains a therapy. However, systematic assessment of pain in
challenge in the ICU. Assessment of the need for critically ill patients remains infrequent and is done
www.ajcconline.org AJCC AMERICAN JOURNAL OF CRITICAL CARE, May 2013, Volume 22, No. 3 251
CVICU CRCU
IRR (95% CI) P IRR (95% CI) P IRR (95% CI) P IRR (95% CI) P
PAIs 1.15 (1.11-1.19) <.001 1.16 (1.13-1.19) <.001 1.19 (1.14-1.25) <.001 1.12 (1.10-1.14) <.001
Age 0.99 (0.98-1.00) .15 1.01 (1.00-1.02) .003 0.99 (0.98-1.00) .14 1.00 (0.99-1.00 .16
Maximum SOFA score 0.98 (0.92-1.05) .53 1.03 (1.00-1.07 .09 0.99 (0.93-1.06) .76 0.98 (0.96-1.00) .04
Sex 0.86 (0.52-1.44) .58 1.17 (0.96-1.41 .11 1.13 (0.73-1.76) .59 0.94 (0.78-1.13) .50
Admission category
Surgical 1 1 1 1
Trauma 1.28 (0.66-2.50) .46 2.48 (1.27-4.81) .007 0.89 (0.48 -1.64) .71 0.95 (0.75-1.20) .66
Medical 1.0 (1.00-1.00) >.99 1.26 (0.95-1.68) .10 1.41 (0.79-2.51) .25 0.91 (0.73-1.14) .43
Abbreviations: CRCU, medical/surgical/trauma unit; CVICU, cardiovascular intensive care unit; IRR, incidence rate ratio; PAIs, pain assessment intervals;
SOFA, Sequential Organ Failure Assessment.
inconsistently. For example, Payen et al27 found that CVICU may have thought that most patients had
only half of the patients treated with opioids on day pain related to procedures and incision sites28 and
2 of the patients ICU stay had documented assess- routinely administered preemptive analgesics. Pos-
ments of pain. Other studies13,14 on implementation sibly CPOT implementation enabled nurses to bet-
of behavioral pain assessment tools had low base- ter detect the presence or absence of pain and to
line rates of documented pain assessment. In a recent titrate administration of analgesics accordingly.
multicenter 1-day point prevalence study13 of 10 Because of the minimal differences in patient
routine care processes involving 50 ICUs and more characteristics across the 2 ICUs after CPOT imple-
than 650 patients, variability was detected in com- mentation, increased administration of opioids in
pliance in all care practices, but documentation of the CRCU might be due to improved detection and
pain scores was one of the practices with the lowest management of pain. However, in other studies,
compliance (35%; IQR, 17%-62%). We noted implementation of a behavioral pain tool had the
increased pain documentation for older patients in opposite effect on opioid administration. Glinas
the CVICU and for patients with decreased organ et al14 detected a reduction in opioid administration
failure in the CRCU. Possibly nurses thought that and postulated that this effect was due to improved
older adults need more frequent pain assessments guidance in pain management decisions and ability
than do younger patients. Competing priorities for to discriminate pain from other symptoms as well
nurses time may influence the nurses ability to as a reduction in the number of trauma patients
complete and document pain assessment in patients after implementation. Similarly, decreased use of
with higher severity of illness. opiates and better pain control were achieved in a
We found that implementation of CPOT had large before-and-after study29 in which protocols for
different effects on opioid and benzodiazepine management of analgesia, sedation, and delirium
administration in the 2 study ICUs. In the CVICU, were implemented that included targeting of anal-
a small but significant decrease occurred in use of gesia to pain scores. Divergent findings such as
opioid analgesics and a large decrease in the these on opioid usage are context dependent and
administration of benzodiazepines. In the CRCU, expected. Targeting either increased or decreased
the amount of opioid analgesics administered administration of analgesics as a desirable outcome
increased dramatically, and benzodiazepine usage has limited clinical usefulness. Rather, administra-
was unchanged. The decreases in the CVICU may tion of analgesics must be based on the intensity
have been due to both implementation of sedation and nature of the pain problem for individual
strategies targeting minimal sedation and provision patients so that the patients receive appropriate
of the CPOT to guide pain assessment. Before doses of the medications.
implementation of the CPOT, and in the absence Although implementation of CPOT increased
of a systematic pain assessment tool, nurses in the documentation of pain assessment and potentially
252 AJCC AMERICAN JOURNAL OF CRITICAL CARE, May 2013, Volume 22, No. 3 www.ajcconline.org
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2. Those conducting the Critical-Care Pain Observation Tool (CPOT) study 8. As a result of CPOT implementation, the median number of pain assessment
hypothesized that implementation of CPOT would do which of the following? intervals for each patient:
a. Not affect documentation of pain assessment and would increase administration of a. Increased
analgesics b. Decreased
b. Negatively affect documentation and decrease administration of analgesics c. Did not change
c. Increase documentation of pain assessment and influence administration of analgesics
d. Decrease documentation of pain assessment and increase administration of sedatives 9. Study f indings indicated successful implementation of the CPOT was
associated with which of the following?
3. Which of the following is the recommended pain assessment interval for a. Increased patient assessment intervals
postsurgical patients? b. Minimized analgesia administration
a. Every 15 minutes for 1 hour then a minimum of every 2 hours c. Better detection for the presence of pain
b. Hourly for 6 hours then a minimum of every 4 hours d. Compliance with pain assessment documentation.
c. Hourly for 2 hours then every 2 hours for 12 hours
d. Hourly for the entire shift and as needed 10. Which of the following supported the assumption that CPOT implementation
resulted in improved detection and use of opioids in the medical/surgical/
4. Patients were eligible for the study if they met 1 of 2 criteria. The f irst trauma ICU?
criterion refers to the patients inability to communicate as determined by a. Frequency of analgesic use was targeted and met.
not being able to follow verbal commands. What was the second criterion? b. Protocols created provided guidelines for pain discrimination.
a. A Mini-Mental Status Exam score less than 24 c. There was improved benchmarking and compliance.
b. A motor score of 5 or less on the Glasgow Coma Scale d. There were minimal differences in patient characteristics.
c. A vital capacity greater than 15mL/kg body weight
d. Ability to maintain a mean arterial blood pressure between 70 and 110 mmHg 11. Which of the following outcomes is anticipated with implementation of
a systematic pain assessment to treat and prevent escalation of pain?
5. Data abstractors excluded reference to pain behaviors during which of the a. Decreased length of stay
following interventions? b. Improved patient satisfaction
a. Routine neurological assessments c. Improved patient outcomes
b. Pain assessment after narcotic administration d. Decreased postsurgical infection rates
c. Administration of analgesia for mild pain
d. Patient mobility 12. Which of the following measures did the authors employ to minimize
performance bias relating to pain assessment practices?
6. Which of the following was used to examine prospectively chosen patient a. Data was collected from the medical record following discharge from the ICU.
factors associated with pain assessment in each intensive care unit (ICU)? b. Participant criteria were focused on the patients ability to communicate.
a. Kaplan-Meier method c. Nursing staff was required to complete education prior to the study.
b. Nonlinear regression d. Data was recorded for 2 weeks before and after CPOT implementation.
c. Multiple Poisson regression
d. Discriminant analysis
b b b b b b b b b b b b
c c c c c c c c c c c c
d d d d d d d d d d d
Fee: AACN members, $0; nonmembers, $10 Passing score: 9 correct (75%) Category: CERP A Test writer: Jean Shinners, PhD, RN-BC
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