• Joseph P Cravero, Gilbert J Fanciullo, Gregory J McHugo, and John C Baird.
• Department of Anesthesiology, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon, NH 03756, USA. Joseph.P.Cravero@hitchcock.org
• Paediatr Anaesth. 2013 Feb 1;23(2):156-61.

ObjectiveThe aim was to assess the validity of the Computer Face Scale.MethodsForty children (5-13 years old) rated pain and mood prior to and twice following tonsillectomy. The children used the Computer Face Scale to adjust a cartoon face to rate pain and mood. During sessions one and two, the children also chose an expression on the Wong-Baker Faces Scale to rate their pain, and they reported their mood verbally on a seven-point scale.ResultsOn average, the children reported no pain and a positive mood prior to surgery. Soon after surgery, they reported mild pain and a slightly negative mood. An hour later, they reported decreases in pain and return to a positive mood. The differences between presurgery and postsurgery ratings were statistically significant (P ≤ 0.001) for all measures. The correlation between the two mood measures was 0.88 before surgery and 0.78 afterward. The correlation between the two measures of pain was 0.83 after surgery (P's < 0.001).ConclusionsThe results support the validity of the Computer Face Scale. The mean ratings of pain and mood followed the expected pattern from pre- to postsurgery, and there was a significant association between ratings obtained by different methods. The Computer Face Scale provides a simple-to-use scale with more resolution and electronic capture, which may provide advantages in numerous clinical and research applications.© 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

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