SDS (verbal pain report) | 4- to 5-point scale describes current pain intensity | Lack of sensitivity in detecting small changes | Measures pain intensity. Simple |
VAS | 10-cm line oriented vertically or horizontally | Good reliability and validity; criterion standard. Continuous score | Measures pain intensity. Easy to use |
NRS | Verbal or written scale from 0 to 10 or 0 to 100. Describes pain intensity as a percentage of 100 | More sensitive than SDS but less sensitive than VAS in detecting small changes | Measures pain intensity |
MPQ. Also has short form (SF-MPQ)45 | 20 Sets of adjectives to select one in each relevant category. Short form has 15-item adjective checklist and includes VAS and SDS for pain intensity | Well-established reliability and validity. Validated in many languages. | Measures quality of pain; 3 dimensions: affective, evaluative, and sensory. Includes also pain intensity measures |