Pain Assessment Tools: The Brief Pain Inventory

¶ … Pain Assessment Tools: The Brief Pain Inventory and the Initial Pain Assessment Tool Using the Brief Pain Inventory and the Initial Pain Assessment Tool to assess a friend who was complaining of sore muscles, I was immediately struck by the superiority of the Initial Pain Assessment Tool. It seemed to gather all of the information that the Brief Pain Inventory obtains from a patient, as well as other information that would be helpful in a treatment scenario.

However, the Brief Pain Inventory has some minor advantages over the Initial Pain Assessment Tool. The main differences in the two assessment tools are: the inclusion of a pain scale; the ability to assess how and when the pain began; a space for a qualitative, rather than just a quantitative, description of the pain; and whether or not the patient finds the current pain level tolerable.

After looking at all of the factors, it seemed clear that the Initial Pain Assessment Tool offered a number of benefits over the Brief Pain Inventory, leaving me with the impression that it was the superior all-around tool. One of the primary differences in the two tools is the inclusion of a pain assessment scale that is standardized to the tool. This is actually one of the only areas where the Brief Pain Inventory was actually superior to the Initial Pain Assessment Tool, and the difference was a significant one.

The Brief Pain Inventory not only includes a suggested numerical scale, but also quantifies responses on the scale. Therefore, a person using the Brief Pain Inventory in patient assessment could quickly look at it and understand the level of pain the patient is experiencing; the numerical indication of level of pain tells more than just a number. In contract, the Initial Pain Assessment Tool does not include its own pain assessment scale and asks for the health care professional to indicate the scale used.

Whoever administers the test has the ability to choose a scale, and that scale may not represent the standard 1 to 10 pain assessment scale, which could mean that a quick scan of the document might not reveal sufficient information about the patient. Therefore, the Brief Pain Inventory's pain level scale is far superior to the Initial Pain Assessment's method of conveying the patient's subjective pain description to any health care professional who examines the chart.

Another difference in the two tools is in their ability to help determine how and when the patient's pain began. The Brief Pain Inventory does not ask any questions about the cause of the pain or the duration of the pain; therefore, the patient may not be given the opportunity to help explain how an injury or pain occurred. Furthermore, because some pain has no direct onset, knowing whether a patient experienced an injury and then pain or simply experienced the onset of pain can be important.

In contrast, the Initial Pain Assessment Tool asks a number of questions about the cause of the pain, when it onset, its duration, and whether the patient can do anything to exacerbate or alleviate the pain. This can help determine the cause of the pain, the type of pain, and suggest a course of treatment. Another important difference between the two different pain assessment tools is that only one of them provides an opportunity for a qualitative assessment of the pain.

The Brief Pain Inventory simply asks for the location and level of pain, but the Initial Pain Assessment Tool asks the patient to describe the pain and where it is. Anyone who has perceived pain understands that some pain is sharp, some is dull, some pain feels hot, some pain feels cold, some pain may feel like an itch, and other pain may feel like a throb. These different types of pain can be important in understanding what is causing the pain.

In fact, one of the most painful events in the world may be a migraine, but to anyone who has not experienced migraine pain, the description of even intense pain in the head may not convey migraine. Therefore, allowing the patient to qualitatively describe the pain is a good advantage because not all pain has a source or a cause; visceral pain is a vague pain that can be difficult to locate.

Asking the patient to describe what the pain feels like can help determine the cause of the pain and eliminate other causes of pain. Another aspect where the Initial Pain Assessment Tool is superior to the Brief Pain Inventory is that the Initial Pain Assessment Tool asks if the patient finds the current pain level tolerable. In pain assessment, one of the driving factors is to help eliminate the pain for the individual. However, the reality is that most forms of pain relief are going to come with side effects.

Moreover, stronger forms of pain relief may leave the patient much more physically comfortable, but otherwise unable to function. Therefore, it is important to assess whether the patient believes the current pain level is a tolerable one. One of the difficulties in determining pain is that pain is subjective and cannot be seen or felt by another person (Guido, 2010, p.58). Therefore, tools have been developed that help the patient convey the level of pain to the healthcare practitioner.

This paper has examined the Brief Pain Inventory and the Initial Pain Assessment Tool. While both of the tools have strengths and weaknesses, the Initial Pain Assessment Tool is the superior tool. It allows the patient to give more details about the pain, which should help decrease the time to diagnosis and also help suggest treatment regimes. References Brief Pain Inventory: Short Form. (2011). ELNEC-Core Curriculum. Guido, G.W. (2010). Chapter four: Pain at the end of life. In Nursing Care at the End of Life. 56-81. Prentice Hall.

Initial Pain Assessment Tool. (2011). ELNEC-Core Curriculum Brief Pain Inventory 12/18/2012 Time: 9:42 AM First MI 1) Throughout our lives, most of us have had pain from time to time (such as minor headaches, sprains, and toothaches). Have you had pain other than these every day kinds of pains today? (Yes ( No 2) On the diagram, shade in the areas where you feel pain. Put an X on the area that hurts the most. 3) Please rate your pain by circling the one number that best.