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 .
Use of analgesia in a paediatric accident and emergency department following limb trauma
The objective of this study was to assess analgesic use and the use of a  pain scoring system  on those children presenting to a paediatric accident and emergency ( A&E ) department with a history of injury due to trauma . A r and om sample of patients who presented to a paediatric A&E department over a 6-week period with a history of limb trauma were prospect ively studied . Pain severity scores were assessed on arrival and at 10 , 30 and 60 minutes using the Douhit Faces Scale and any analgesia given or plaster application was noted . One hundred and seventy-two patients were studied . The median age was 10 years ( range 3–13 years ) and the majority , 56 % , were male . The mean initial pain scores were 2.7 ( range 1–4 ) for boys and 3.0 ( range 1–4 ) for girls . The presenting injuries were 103 upper or lower limb fractures and 69 ‘ soft tissue ’ injuries . Only 84 ( 49 % ) patients received  analgesic medication in the department ( 30 % morphine ; 70 % paracetamol ) ;  analgesia  was not given to the remaining 88 ( 51 % ) . Of these , 7 declined analgesia , and 5 had already taken analgesia on arrival to A&E. Despite prompt triage ( median time 2 minutes , range 0–10 minutes ) , the median time from arrival to paracetamol administration was 20 minutes ( range 4–105 minutes ) and for morphine was 14 minutes ( range 2–57 minutes ) . Pain is a common symptom in patients presenting to A&E. Because children 's pain can be particularly difficult to assess , a pain scoring system such as the Douhit Faces Scale can be a useful means of pain assessment in the A&E setting . Despite increased awareness , pain is still under treated in the A&E department
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 .