ArticleAcademic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine2015
Clinically significant differences in acute pain measured on self-report pain scales in children.
Article in Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 2 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 33 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Acupressure Intervention to Reduce Treatment-related Symptoms in Children With Cancer or Receiving a Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant
Management of Type 1 Supracondylar Humeral Fractures: a Multicentre Randomized Control Trial
Who cites it
33 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 66 citations in OpenAlex.
- Nonpharmacologic Therapy for Pediatric Posttonsillectomy Pain: A Systematic Review.Otolaryngology--head and neck surgery : official journal of American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery · 2026Pooled it
- The impact of virtual reality (VR) on pain management in the emergency department: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC emergency medicine · 2025Pooled it
- Efficacy of heel lifts for lower limb musculoskeletal conditions: A systematic review.Journal of foot and ankle research · 2024Pooled it
- The predictors, barriers and facilitators to effective management of acute pain in children by emergency medical services: A systematic mixed studies review.Journal of child health care : for professionals working with children in the hospital and community · 2021Pooled it
- Pain relief that matters to patients: systematic review of empirical studies assessing the minimum clinically important difference in acute pain.BMC medicine · 2017Pooled it
- Efficacy and Safety of Topical Sucralfate for Post-Tonsillectomy Pain in Children: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.Journal of otolaryngology - head & neck surgery = Le Journal d'oto-rhino-laryngologie et de chirurgie cervico-facialePooled it
- Therapeutic communication improves patient comfort during venipuncture in children: a single-blinded intervention study.European journal of pediatrics · 2023Trial
- Intranasal ketorolac versus intravenous ketorolac for treatment of migraine headaches in children: A randomized clinical trial.Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine · 2022Trial
- Prevention of oral mucositis with cryotherapy in children undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantations-a feasibility study and randomized controlled trial.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2020Trial
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- Trial
- Virtual Reality Interventions for Pediatric Pain and Anxiety Management During Emergency Department Procedures: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of the American College of Emergency Physicians open · 2026Review
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- Immersive virtual reality for pediatric burn pain and early rehabilitation.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2026Article
- Effect of postoperative comfort care based on a standard operating procedure management model in children with upper extremity fractures.BMC pediatrics · 2025Article
- Integrative and Complementary Interventions Result in Significant Positive Effect Sizes in Quality of Life and Symptom Burden among Patients with Pediatric Cancer and Other Serious Illness.Research square · 2025Article
- Study of Complementary and Integrative Interventions in Pediatric Patients With Serious Illness.Journal of pain and symptom management · 2025Article
- Assessment of the reliability and validity of visual analog scale for abdominal pain among selected school students from selected schools at Kanyakumari district.Journal of family medicine and primary care · 2025Article
- Improving Pain management for children and young people attended by Ambulance (PANDA): protocol for a realist evaluation and consensus workshops.NIHR open research · 2025Article
- Clinically significant differences in self-reported pain scores in children with headaches.Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 4 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
objectivesThe objective was to determine the minimum and ideal clinically significant differences (MCSD, ICSD) in pain intensity in children for the Faces Pain Scale-Revised (FPS-R) and the Color Analog Scale (CAS) and to identify any differences in these estimates based on patient characteristics.
methodsThis was a prospective study of children aged 4 to 17 years with acute pain presenting to two urban pediatric emergency departments. Participants self-reported their pain intensity using the FPS-R and CAS and qualitatively described their changes in pain. Changes in pain score reported using the FPS-R and CAS that were associated with "a little less" and "much less" pain (MCSD and ICSD, respectively) were identified using a receiver operating characteristic-based method and expressed as raw change score and percent reductions. Estimates of MCSD and ICSD were determined for each category of initial pain intensity (mild, moderate, and severe) and patient characteristics (age, sex, and ethnicity). Post hoc exploratory analyses evaluated categories of race, primary language, and etiology of pain.
resultsA total of 314 children with acute pain were enrolled; mean (±SD) age was 9.8 (±3.8) years. The FPS-R raw change score and percent reduction MCSD estimates were 2/10 and 25%, with ICSD estimates of 3/10 and 60%. For the CAS, raw change score and percent reduction MCSD estimates were 1/10 and 15%, with ICSD estimates of 2.75/10 and 52%. For both scales, raw change score and percent reduction estimates of the MCSD remained unchanged in children with either moderate or severe pain. For both scales, estimates of ICSD were not stable across categories of initial pain intensity. There was no difference in MCSD or ICSD based on age, sex, ethnicity, race, primary language, or etiology of pain.
conclusionsThe MCSD estimates can be expressed as raw change score and percent reductions for the FPS-R and CAS. These estimates appear stable for children with moderate to severe pain, irrespective of age, sex, and ethnicity. Estimates of ICSD were not stable across different categories of initial pain intensity, therefore limiting their potential generalizability.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.