• Madelon L Peters, Jacob Patijn, and Inge Lamé.
• Department of Clinical Psychological Science, University Maastricht, Maastricht, The Netherlands. madelon.peters@dep.unimaas.nl
• Pain Med. 2007 Oct 1;8(7):601-10.

ObjectiveTo study the psychometric properties and preference for five different pain intensity scales (horizontal visual analog scale [VAS], vertical VAS, Box-11, Box-21, and verbal descriptor scale) across different age groups.DesignChronic pain patients rated their present, average, weakest, and strongest pain on five different scales, and indicated scale preference.SettingOutpatient pain facility.ResultsThe number of mistakes on all scales increased with increasing age, and the VAS appeared to be most prone to making mistakes. All scales appeared to be sufficiently valid, but the verbal descriptor scale was less related to the common underlying pain factor than the other scales. The Box-21 was the most preferred scale overall, although patients aged >75 years especially preferred the verbal descriptor scale.ConclusionThe numerical Box-21 scale is an excellent choice for pain intensity assessment in heterogeneous patient groups. The verbal descriptor scales may be considered when the study population consists of a majority of older persons.

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