VISUAL ANALOG THERMOMETER - A VALID AND USEFUL INSTRUMENT FOR MEASURING PAIN IN BURNED PATIENTS

This study assessed the psychometric qualities of a new pain rating in strument - the visual analogue thermometer (VAT) - which was developed to measure pain in burned patients. The validity and utility of the V AT was assessed and compared with a conventional numeric (NUM) and adj ective pain scale (ADJ) with a group of 103 burned patients and 51 nur ses. Analyses of the results support the concurrent and construct vali dity of the VAT as a pain measure. Furthermore, the VAT gave more sens itive and precise pain measures than the ADJ and/or NUM scales. No maj or difference between the three scales emerged in the patients' prefer ence. The same was true for the nurses' evaluation except for those wh o had more clinical experience with the VAT and who tended to prefer t his scale for its accuracy and ease of utilization. The VAT appears to be a valid, sensitive and clinically useful tool to measure pain in b urned patients. A systematic pain assessment procedure which can be ea sily implemented in burn care facilities is presented.