Numeric Pain Rating Scale (NPRS Score)

The Numeric Pain Rating Scale (NPRS Score) is a tool used to measure the intensity of pain experienced by the patient. It is a simple, yet effective method that uses a scale from 0 to 10 to rate the level of pain the patient is experiencing. The NPRS score is widely used by healthcare professionals in various medical settings, including hospitals, clinics, and rehabilitation centers.

The NPRS score is easy to understand, and it allows the patient to express their pain level in a numeric value that is easily recorded and tracked over time.

See Also: Penn Shoulder Score

How to measure the NPRS Score?

The patient rates his level of pain on an 11 point scale ranging from 0 to 10, with high scores representing more pain, with 0 indicating no pain and 10 indicating the worst possible pain.

The patient is often asked as “current pain” and “least,” “worst,” and “average” pain in the past 24 hours.

Numeric Pain Rating Scale relies on the patients’ ability to accurately rate their pain level, which may be influenced by a variety of factors, including:

1. Cultural background,
2. Cognitive impairment,
3. Emotional state.

NPRS score does not capture other aspects of pain, such as the quality or location of the pain.

Advantages of NPRS Score

• The NPRS takes only less than a minute to complete,
• The NPRS is easy to administer and score,
• Minimal language translation difficulties supports the use of the NPRS across cultures and languages,
• The NPRS is a valid and reliable scale to measure pain intensit,
• Strengths of this measure over the VAS are the ability to be administered both verbally and in writing, as well as its simplicity of scoring,

One Disadvantages is that the NPRS score evaluates only 1 component of the pain experience and intensity, and therefore does not capture the complexity and idiosyncratic nature of the pain experience or improvements due to symptom fluctuations.

References

1. Li L, Liu X, Herr K. Postoperative pain intensity assessment: a comparison of four scales in Chinese adults. Pain Med. 2007 Apr;8(3):223-34. doi: 10.1111/j.1526-4637.2007.00296.x. PMID: 17371409. Pubmed
2. Farrar JT, Berlin JA, Strom BL. Clinically important changes in acute pain outcome measures: a validation study. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2003;25:406- 411.
3. Farrar JT, Portenoy RK, Berlin JA, et al. Defining the clinically important difference in pain outcome measures. Pain. 2000;88:287-294.
4. Farrar JT, Young JP Jr, LaMoreaux L, Werth JL, Poole MR. Clinical importance of changes in chronic pain intensity measured on an 11-point numerical pain rating scale. Pain. 2001 Nov;94(2):149-158. doi: 10.1016/S0304-3959(01)00349-9. PMID: 11690728.
5. Netter’s Orthopaedic Clinical Examination An Evidence-Based Approach 3rd Edition Book.