Determination of Clinically Meaningful Levels of Pain Reduction in Patients Experiencing Acute Postoperative Pain

Assessment is an essential, but challenging, component of any pain management plan. Nurses who care for postoperative patients quantify and document pain by use of unidimensional scales such as the numeric rating scale, the visual analogue scale, or a verbal descriptor scale. Improvements in pain ratings on these scales are viewed as a welcome result by nurses and doctors. Pain, however, is a multidimensional phenomenon. Furthermore, pain is...