All 4 faces pain scales were found to be adequately supported by psychometric data .
When given a choice between faces scales , children preferred the WBFPRS .
Confounding of pain intensity with affect caused by use of smiling and crying anchor faces is a disadvantage of the WBFPRS .
: For clinical use , we found no grounds to switch from 1 faces scale to another when 1 of the scales is in use .
CONTEXT : Numerous faces scales have been developed for the measurement of  pain intensity in children .
It remains unclear whether any one of the faces scales is better for a particular purpose with regard to validity , reliability , feasibility , and preference .
OBJECTIVES : To summarize and systematic ally review faces pain scales most commonly used to obtain self-report of pain intensity in children for evaluation of reliability and validity and to compare the scales for preference and utility .
Comparing two methods of topical anesthesia used before intravenous cannulation in pediatric patients.
INTRODUCTION The purpose of this study was to compare the efficacy of two methods of topical anesthesia before venipuncture or intravenous cannulation of pediatric patients to assess which type of topical anesthetic would better alleviate pain in the least amount of time with the greatest success rate of cannulation . METHODS This study was a r and omly controlled trial of 100 preoperative pediatric patients aged 5 to 21 years . The following methods of topical anesthesia were compared : ( a ) iontophoresis of a topical solution of 2 % lidocaine with epinephrine 1:100,000 using a Phoresor Dose Controller ( PDC ) with Numby Stuff electrodes and a eutectic mixture of local anesthetic and ( b ) 2.5 % lidocaine and 2.5 % prilocaine ( eutectic mixture of local anesthetics [ EMLA ] cream ) . RESULTS Children reported less pain with iontophoresis ( M = 0.08 ) compared with EMLA cream ( M = 1.88 , P < .001 ) . Time to accomplish topical anesthesia was shorter with iontophoresis ( 13 minutes ) compared with EMLA cream ( 60 minutes , P < .001 ) . Failure to accomplish venipuncture occurred 5 times with the iontophoresis method and 8 times with the EMLA method ( not significant ) . No dermal burns result ed from use of iontophoresis . DISCUSSION We conclude that use of iontophoresis in pediatric patients is safe , rapid , and significantly more effective than is EMLA cream in reducing pain associated with venipuncture or intravenous cannulation
All 4 faces pain scales were found to be adequately supported by psychometric data .
When given a choice between faces scales , children preferred the WBFPRS .
Confounding of pain intensity with affect caused by use of smiling and crying anchor faces is a disadvantage of the WBFPRS .
: For clinical use , we found no grounds to switch from 1 faces scale to another when 1 of the scales is in use .
CONTEXT : Numerous faces scales have been developed for the measurement of  pain intensity in children .
It remains unclear whether any one of the faces scales is better for a particular purpose with regard to validity , reliability , feasibility , and preference .
OBJECTIVES : To summarize and systematic ally review faces pain scales most commonly used to obtain self-report of pain intensity in children for evaluation of reliability and validity and to compare the scales for preference and utility .