Reliability and validity of the Modified Preverbal, Early Verbal Pediatric Pain Scale in emergency department pediatric patients

IntroductionResearch has demonstrated that children are at particular risk for oligoanalgesia due to assessment difficulties when they are unable to self-report. We sought to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Modified Preverbal, Early Verbal Pediatric Pain Scale (M-PEPPS) when used in an emergency department pediatric population.MethodsWe conducted a secondary analysis of data from a prospective, observational study of pain in emergency patients to evaluate the M-PEPPS tool. Data from 118 pediatric patients was subjected to item analysis, reliability analysis, and common factor analysis.ResultsItem difficulties suggest that the items capture the range of pain states from mild to severe. Corrected item-total correlations indicate that the instrument discriminates between various levels of pain. Common factor analysis yielded a single, unrotated common factor solution providing evidence that the M-PEPPS measures the single construct of pain. Cronbach’s alpha for the scale (0.954) suggests excellent reliability.ConclusionsFindings indicate that the M-PEPPS instrument is reliable when used by emergency nurses to measure pediatric pain. The single-factor common factor solution provides support for the scale as measuring the single construct of pain. Additional research is necessary to establish the degree of change in score required for a clinically meaningful reduction in pain to be present.