Douleur chronique

The measurement of chronic pain has been the topic of many investigations due to difficulties in achieving correct assessment. Chronic pain has to be measured with suitable tools so the physician can assess the effects of applied treatments. Parallel display of pain intensity and its numerical equivalent is a specific property a visual analogic scales. A clinically meaningful improvement represents a reduction of 2 points on an 11-point numerical rating scale. Recall pain does not reflect corresponding current pain precisely. But the magnitude and the direction of the difference varies according to authors. While being based on clinical and legal recommendations, this review of the key literature proposes to put forward the main points concerning the evaluation of the chronic pain patient.