Martin WJJM, Heymans MW, Skorpil NE, Forouzanfar T. Can a single pain rating replace a multiple pain rating in third molar surgery studies? Analysis of 220 patients.
Int J Oral Maxillofac Surg 2012;
41:1010-3. [PMID:
22446069 DOI:
10.1016/j.ijom.2012.02.016]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2010] [Revised: 12/29/2011] [Accepted: 02/20/2012] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
This study describes the comparison of multiple and single pain ratings in patients after surgical removal of the third molar. Correlation and agreement analysis were performed between the average pain intensity measured three times a day over a period of 7 days and one single pain rating (designated the 'recalled average' pain, as assessed by the patient) after surgical removal of the lower third molar. The study population consisted of patients participating in three randomized trials. The results show that both measurement correlated good to excellent, but there was a large variation in agreement between the ratings. In conclusion, in patients with surgical third molar removal a single pain rating is not an accurate predictor of the average pain measured by a multiple pain-rating test. A single pain rating cannot replace a multiple pain assessment.
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