Pain Assessment Tools: The Brief Pain Inventory Case Study

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….....