From analyses of individual patient data ( seven studies , 918 patients ) , we found baseline pain strongly associated with absolute , but not relative , MCID as patients with higher baseline pain needed larger pain reduction to perceive relief .
Conclusions The MCID in acute pain varied greatly between studies and was influenced by baseline pain , definitions of improved patients and study design .
Background The minimum clinical ly important difference ( MCID ) is used to interpret the clinical relevance of results reported by trials and meta-analyses as well as to plan sample sizes in new studies .
However , there is a lack of consensus about the size of MCID in acute pain , which is a core symptom affecting patients across many clinical conditions .
Correlation of change in visual analog scale with pain relief in the ED.
OBJECTIVES To evaluate the validity of change in  visual analog Scale ( VAS ) as a measure of pain relief using a verbal descriptor Scale ( VDS ) of change in pain . METHODS A prospect i ve observational study of emergency department patients measured  pain  with  VAS and recorded verbal report of change in pain .  RESULTS One thous and four hundred ninety patients yielded 1999 comparisons between change in VAS and VDS . Correlation of change in VAS and VDS of change in pain was rho = 0.667 ( P < .001 ) . A wide range of change in VAS , large st and ard deviations for the mean change in VAS , and discordance in the direction of change in VAS were present within each verbal descriptor category . CONCLUSIONS Change in VAS is moderately correlated with a VDS of change in pain . Wide variability in change in VAS and discordance with a VDS demonstrate that change in VAS is not a valid indicator of pain relief for individual patients
From analyses of individual patient data ( seven studies , 918 patients ) , we found baseline pain strongly associated with absolute , but not relative , MCID as patients with higher baseline pain needed larger pain reduction to perceive relief .
Conclusions The MCID in acute pain varied greatly between studies and was influenced by baseline pain , definitions of improved patients and study design .
Background The minimum clinical ly important difference ( MCID ) is used to interpret the clinical relevance of results reported by trials and meta-analyses as well as to plan sample sizes in new studies .
However , there is a lack of consensus about the size of MCID in acute pain , which is a core symptom affecting patients across many clinical conditions .