ASSESSMENT OF PAIN IN VENTILATED ICU PATIENTS USING BEHAVIORAL PAIN SCALE

Systematic assessment of pain is difficult in intensive care units, because most of the patients are non-communicative and are unable to self-report pain. The Behavioral Pain Scale (BPS) is one of the assessment tools for uncommunicative and sedated intensive care unit patients. This study is to assess and evaluate the efficacy and reliability of BPS scale in mechanically ventilated patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS Prospective observational study in 71 mechanically ventilated medical ICU patients who were unable to report pain was assessed with BPS. RESULTS Post procedure there was a significant difference in the percentage of patients with an increased BPS score for repositioning, but not for oral care. CONCLUSIONS This study showed that the BPS is reliable and valid for use in sedated ICU patients. We conclude that pain scales should be incorporated into pain management as protocols to target the desired levels of analgesia in order to optimize inter-professional practices and to achieve better patient outcomes.