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Visual Analog Scales in Formats Other than a 10 Centimeter Horizontal Line to Assess Pain and Other Clinical Data
THEODORE PINCUS, MARTIN BERGMAN, TUULIKKI SOKKA, JILL ROTH, CHRISTOPHER SWEARINGEN, and YUSUF YAZICI
ABSTRACT. Methods. The MDHAQ with VAS for pain and global estimate was completed by each patient at each visit. VAS formats other than a traditional (unnumbered) 10 cm horizontal line based on 21 circles at 0.5 intervals were analyzed. Formats included unnumbered, symbol at the 11th circle, numbers and/or squares (instead of circles) at selected intermittent scores, and numbers at each circle. Analyses were performed to study the time to score MDHAQ with different VAS formats, possible "clustering" of responses in any format, particularly with intermittent numbers and/or symbols, and test-retest reliability of various formats. Results. The median time to score MDHAQ with a 10 cm line VAS was 15.6 seconds, compared to 7.4 seconds for the 21 numbered circle VAS. No other format was scored in fewer seconds. Clustering was seen for scores of VAS formats with intermittent numbers or symbols, which rendered them unsuitable for use. No clustering was seen for the 21 numbered circle VAS format, for which test-retest agreement was significant, and similar to the 10 cm line VAS format. Conclusion. A 21 numbered circle VAS may be a desirable alternative to a 10 cm horizontal line, yielding similar results and requiring less than half the time to score. (First Release June 15 2008; J Rheumatol 2008;35:1550–8) Key Indexing Terms:
VISUAL ANALOG SCALES
From the NYU Hospital for Joint Diseases, New York, New York; Taylor Hospital, Ridley Park, Pennsylvania, USA; Jyväskylä Central Hospital, Jyväskylä, and Medcare Oy, Äänekoski, Finland; Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas; and Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, USA. Supported in part by grants from Amgen, Bristol-Myers Squibb, the Arthritis Foundation, and the Jack C. Massey Foundation. T. Pincus, MD, NYU Hospital for Joint Diseases; M. Bergman, MD, Taylor Hospital; T. Sokka, MD, PhD, Jyväskylä Central Hospital and Medcare Oy; J. Roth, BS, Baylor College of Medicine; C. Swearingen, MS, Medical University of South Carolina; Y. Yazici, MD, NYU Hospital for Joint Diseases. Address reprint requests to Dr. T. Pincus, NYU-Hospital for Joint Diseases, 301 East 17 Street, New York, NY 10003, USA. E-mail: tedpincus@gmail.com Accepted for publication March 19, 2008. |
