10/16/2016 Behavioral Pain Scale (BPS) for Pain Assessment in Intubated Patients ­ MDCalc

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Behavioral Pain Scale (BPS) for Pain Assessment in Intubated

Patients

Quantifies pain in intubated patients.

Facial expression
Relaxed +1

Partially tightened (e.g., brow lowering) +2

Fully tightened (e.g., eyelid closing) +3

Grimacing +4

Upper limb movements

No movement +1

Partially bent +2

Fully bent with finger flexion +3

Permanently retracted +4

Compliance with mechanical ventilation

Tolerating movement +1

Coughing but tolerating ventilation for most of the time +2

Fighting ventilator +3

Unable to control ventilation +4

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10/16/2016 Behavioral Pain Scale (BPS) for Pain Assessment in Intubated Patients ­ MDCalc

How To Use

PEARLS/PITFALLS The Behavioral Pain Scale (BPS) quantifies pain using body language and patient-ventilator
interactions for intubated patients.

It was developed and validated by performing non-painful procedures (i.e., a central line
dressing change) and noxious procedures (i.e., endotracheal tube suctioning) and then
observing response patterns.

USE CASES Intubated patients, often undergoing painful procedures.

WHY USE IT Nonverbal patients express pain variably, making a standardized, accurate tool helpful in the
evaluation of pain. Pain can be a cause of abnormal vital signs in the ICU setting, and using a
quantitative tool can help confirm or refute this hypothesis.

Next Steps

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