Construction and validation of visual instrument for the evaluation of pain intensity and location of pain in traumatic brachial plexopathy in adults

• Autor(a) principal: Celia Maria de Oliveira
• Data de Publicação: 2016
• Outros Autores: Jose Augusto Malheiros, Marcelo Magaldi de Oliveira, Dacle Vilma Carvalho, Selme Silqueira de Matos, Cassia Maria de Oliveira Mercadante
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Institucional da UFMG
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/1843/65342; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1937-7364; https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9515-1028
• topic: Brachial plexopathy; Pain; Pain intensity; Visual instrument scale; Neuropatias do plexo braquial; Dor; Medição da dor

Background: In brachial plexus injury, pain is a prevalent symptom and requires careful handling. Existing scales to evaluate such pain are inaccurate and difficult to apply. Objective: To construct a visual instrument with a color scale for the location and measurement of pain intensity in adults with brachial plexopathy. Methods and results: A total of 53 patients were evaluated between December 2010 and December 2011 at the Felicio Rocho Hospital (Hospital Felicio Rocho) and Clinical Hospital, Federal University of Minas Gerais (Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais – UFMG). Forty-seven patients (88.7%) had pain and agreed to participate. The 47 diagrams colored by patients were evaluated and compared by three peripheral nerve specialists. After examining and defining the patients' injuries, the diagrams were compared to evaluate their reliability. The reliability index was 98.6%, and the Kappa index agreements were as follows: k = 0.677 for upper trunk (substantial agreement); k = 0.709 for middle trunk (substantial agreement); k = 0.884 for lower trunk (excellent agreement); and k = 0.500 for full injury (moderate agreement). Conclusion: The visual instrument was useful in locating and measuring pain intensity in patients with brachial plexopathy.