Based on available evidence , the NRS-11 , FPS-R , and CAS were strongly recommended for self-report of acute pain .
Only weak recommendations could be made for self-report measures for postoperative and chronic pain .
No measures were recommended for children younger than 6 years , identifying a need for further measurement refinement in this age range .
Abstract In 2006 , PAIN published a systematic review of the measurement properties of self-report pain intensity measures  in children and adolescents ( Stinson JN , Kavanagh T , Yamada J , Gill N , Stevens B. Systematic review of the psychometric properties , interpretability and feasibility of self-report pain intensity measures for use in clinical trials in children and adolescents .
Key developments in pediatric pain necessitate an up date of this work , most notably growing use of the 11-point numeric rating scale ( NRS-11 ) .
Our aim was to review the measurement properties of single-item self-report pain intensity measures in children 3 to 18 years old .
A secondary aim was to develop evidence -based recommendations for measurement of child and adolescent self-report of acute , postoperative , and chronic pain .
Validation and properties of the verbal numeric scale in children with acute pain
& NA ; Although the verbal numeric scale ( VNS ) is used frequently at patients ’ bedsides , it has never been formally vali date d in children with acute pain . In order to vali date this scale , a prospect i ve cohort study was performed in children between 8 and 17 years presenting to a pediatric emergency department ( ED ) with acute pain . Pain was grade d using the VNS , the visual analogue scale ( VAS ) , and the verbal rating scale ( VRS ) .  A second assessment was done before discharge . We determined a priori that in order to be valid , the VNS would need to : correlate with the VAS ( concurrent validity ) ; decrease after intervention to reduce pain ( construct validity ) ; and be associated with the VRS categories ( content validity ) . The VNS interchangeability with the VAS , its minimal clinical ly significant difference , and test – retest reliability were also determined . A total of 202 patients ( mean age : 12.2 ± 2.6 years ) were enrolled . The VNS correlated with the VAS : ric = 0.93 , p < 0.001 . There were differences in the VNS before versus after interventions ( p < 0.001 ) , and between VRS categories ( mild versus moderate , p < 0.001 ; moderate versus severe , p < 0.001 ) . The 95 % limits of agreement ( interchangeability ) between VNS/VAS were outside the a priori set limit of ±2.0 : −1.8 , 2.5 . The VNS minimal clinical ly significant difference was 1 . The VNS had good test – retest reliability with 95 % limits of agreement of −0.9 and 1.2 . In conclusion , the VNS  provides a valid and reliable scale to evaluate acute pain in children aged 8–17 years but is not interchangeable with the VAS
Based on available evidence , the NRS-11 , FPS-R , and CAS were strongly recommended for self-report of acute pain .
Only weak recommendations could be made for self-report measures for postoperative and chronic pain .
No measures were recommended for children younger than 6 years , identifying a need for further measurement refinement in this age range .
Abstract In 2006 , PAIN published a systematic review of the measurement properties of self-report pain intensity measures  in children and adolescents ( Stinson JN , Kavanagh T , Yamada J , Gill N , Stevens B. Systematic review of the psychometric properties , interpretability and feasibility of self-report pain intensity measures for use in clinical trials in children and adolescents .
Key developments in pediatric pain necessitate an up date of this work , most notably growing use of the 11-point numeric rating scale ( NRS-11 ) .
Our aim was to review the measurement properties of single-item self-report pain intensity measures in children 3 to 18 years old .
A secondary aim was to develop evidence -based recommendations for measurement of child and adolescent self-report of acute , postoperative , and chronic pain .