Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40172913›Full record

ArticlePain medicine (Malden, Mass.)2025

Mapping and crosswalk of patient-reported pain measures after surgery in the Michigan surgical quality collaborative registry.

Ashwin J Kulkarni, Jorge Vinales, Vidhya Gunaseelan, Chad M Brummett, Yen-Ling Lai, Jennifer Waljee, Michael F McGee, Michael Englesbe, Mark C Bicket

Abstract read
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In one paragraph

Article in Pain medicine (Malden, Mass.), 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Ashwin J KulkarniUniversity of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States.ORCID 0009-0006-5010-9735
Jorge VinalesUniversity of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States.
Vidhya GunaseelanDepartment of Anesthesiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States.
Chad M BrummettDepartment of Anesthesiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States.
Yen-Ling LaiDepartment of Anesthesiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States.
Jennifer WaljeeDepartment of Surgery, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States.
Michael F McGeeDepartment of Anesthesiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States.
Michael EnglesbeDepartment of Surgery, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States.
Mark C BicketDepartment of Anesthesiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States.ORCID 0000-0001-9406-5953

Funding

oPIOIDS: Prevention of Iatrogenic Opioid Dependence after SurgeryR01DA042859 · NIDA · UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR · PI BRUMMETT, CHAD M, WALJEE, JENNIFER FILIP · 2017 to 2021
$3.6M
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan. OtherwiseCDC HHSMichigan Department of Health and Human ServicesMichigan Department of Health and Human Services E20242492-002NIDA NIH HHS R01DA042859NIH HHSPatient-Centered Outcomes Research Institutes, Food and Drug AdministrationSAMHSA HHS
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivePatient-reported pain is a crucial measure for postoperative recovery, but the correlation between numeric and categorical scales remains unclear. The Michigan Surgical Quality Collaborative (MSQC) used categorical rating scales (CRS) from 2017 to 2020 and 2022, switching to numeric rating scales (NRS) in 2021, offering a chance to compare both.

methodsWe analyzed surgical patients ≥18 years of age across 70 MSQC hospitals. We compared the 2020 CRS regarding pain in the week after surgery with 2021 NRS surgical site (primary outcome) and overall body (secondary outcome) pain questions using modified equipercentile equating. A secondary analysis equated surgical site pain for 2021 NRS and 2022 CRS.

resultsAmong 31 362 respondents (55.4 mean age, 57.4% female, 19.5% non-white, 46.6% publicly insured), 81.1% noted "minimal" or "moderate" pain in the 2020 CRS while 76.6% noted surgical site pain scores between 2 through 8 in the 2021 NRS. Responses from surgical site pain NRS were matched to CRS as: 0 = no pain, 1 through 4 = minimal pain, 5 through 8 = moderate pain, and 9 through 10 = severe pain. The mapping of overall body pain NRS was similar except that minimal pain included 0 through 4. The secondary analysis added 21 113 cases confirming these findings. DISCUSSION: NRS surgical site and overall body pain scores map effectively to the single-question CRS, with pain scores similar over 3 years. This analysis establishes a framework for integrating pain scores across both scales, unlocking their potential to be used as quality postoperative pain measures.

Indexed as

Pain MeasurementPatient Reported Outcome MeasuresPostoperative PainAdultAgedFemaleHumansMaleMichiganMiddle AgedRegistriesacute painpain intensitypain managementpain scalespostoperative

Identifiers

PMID40172913
PMCPMC12314365

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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.