Understanding another person's pain is not easy. Pain scales have been developed to aid in our understanding, but they must be used correctly and they should be part of a complete pain assessment.
One-dimensional scales, such as the numeric 0 to 10 scale, are appropriate for the acute care setting. A more comprehensive approach should be used for patients with chronic or persistent pain. This often consists of a one-dimensional scale and a body diagram; the use of color can be used to represent pain intensity. Behavioral pain scales are used to assess pain in nonverbal, cognitively impaired, or critically ill patients.
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