Table 1.

Summary of neonatal pain scales [1]

Pain scale	What variables are included?	Type of pain	Notes
PIPP (premature infant pain profile)	Heart rate, oxygen saturation, facial actions	Procedural, postoperative	Reliable, valid, clinical utility is well established
NIPS (neonatal infant pain score)	Facial expression, crying, breathing patterns, arm and leg movements, arousal	Procedural	Reliable, valid
NFCS (neonatal facial coding system)	Facial actions	Procedural	Reliable, valid, clinical utility is well established, high degree of sensitivity to analgesia
N-PASS (neonatal pain, agitation and sedation scale)	Crying, irritability, facial expression, extremity tone, vital signs	Procedural, postoperative, mechanically ventilated patients	Reliable, valid. Includes sedation end of scale, does not distinguish pain from agitation
CRIES (cry, requires oxygen, increased vital signs, expression, sleeplessness)	Crying, facial expression, sleeplessness, requires oxygen to stay at >95 % saturation, increased vital signs	Postoperative	reliable, valid
COMFORT scale	Movement, calmness, facial tension, alertness, respiration rate, muscle tone, heart rate, blood pressure	Postoperative, critical care	Reliable, valid, clinical utility well established
DAN (Douleur Aiguë du Nouveau-né)	Facial expression, limb movements, vocal expression	Procedural	Reliable, valid