Pain scoring tools
Self-report intensity scales (NRS, verbal, faces), function and sedation scores used with opioids, the PEG and DN4 for chronic and neuropathic pain, what change is clinically meaningful, and how to choose a tool for the patient in front of you.
Tier 2Medical sciences concept
Written with AI assistance and fact-checked against the sources below. For exam study, not clinical decisions. How notes are made
At a glance
- Pain is what the patient says it is. Self-report comes first whenever the patient can give it.
- A pain score is one observation. Read it with function (can they breathe deeply, cough, walk?) and, on opioids, sedation.
- In acute pain the target is function, not zero. The ACSQHC Opioid Analgesic Stewardship standard (2022) asks for pain, function and sedation to be assessed together.
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Sources
- Acute Pain Management: Scientific Evidence (5th edition)AU/NZAustralian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists and Faculty of Pain Medicine, 2020
- Opioid Analgesic Stewardship in Acute Pain Clinical Care StandardAU/NZAustralian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care, 2022
- Therapeutic Guidelines: Pain and AnalgesiaAU/NZTherapeutic Guidelines Limited, 2026
- Hjermstad MJ, Fayers PM, Haugen DF et al. Studies comparing numerical rating scales, verbal rating scales, and visual analogue scales for assessment of pain intensity in adults: a systematic literature review. J Pain Symptom Manage 2011;41:1073-93Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 2011
- Farrar JT, Young JP, LaMoreaux L et al. Clinical importance of changes in chronic pain intensity measured on an 11-point numerical pain rating scale. Pain 2001;94:149-58Pain, 2001
- Krebs EE, Lorenz KA, Bair MJ et al. Development and initial validation of the PEG, a three-item scale assessing pain intensity and interference. J Gen Intern Med 2009;24:733-8Journal of General Internal Medicine, 2009
- Bouhassira D, Attal N, Alchaar H et al. Comparison of pain syndromes associated with nervous or somatic lesions and development of a new neuropathic pain diagnostic questionnaire (DN4). Pain 2005;114:29-36Pain, 2005
- IASP TerminologyInternational Association for the Study of Pain, 2020
- Last updated
- 14 November 2026
What changed
- 14 November 2026 Personal emails, About story and Australian-style copy