The Meaning of Pain Relief in a Clinical Trial

In order to be “very satisfied” with pain relief during the postoperative period, patients are not required to experience no pain. Rather, the study findings suggest that mild pain averaging less than 40 on a 0 to 100 VAS is adequate. However, moderate pain during the early recovery period averaging about 50 or more on a 0 to 100 VAS appears to be associated with dissatisfaction with pain relief.