Table 2.
Recommendations for reporting pain intensity assessments.128
| Report the type of pain intensity assessment used (eg, VAS, NRS) with a description that clearly distinguishes the assessment from others (eg, for a VAS, describing the length of the line; for an NRS, reporting the range of possible ratings) |
| Report the definitions of anchors, except in cases where a well-known assessment is used verbatim and the anchors are easily referenced (eg, anchors for the 4 BPI pain intensity NRS items) |
| Report the frequency of administering the pain intensity assessment |
| Report the period to be rated, except in cases where a well-known assessment is used verbatim and the period is easily referenced (eg, SF-MPQ PPI assesses present pain) |
| Report the type of pain intensity rated by participants (eg, average, usual, least, worst, current, and present) |
| Report the specific bodily area or pain condition to be rated; if none was specified, this should be stated |
BPI, Brief Pain Inventory; NRS, numerical rating scale; VAS, visual analogue scale.