Screening for pain in patients with cognitive and communication difficulties: evaluation of the SPIN-screen

Abstract

The scale of pain intensity (SPIN)- screen is a simple visual tool for the screening and measurement of pain intensity, which is designed to be accessible by patients with cognitive and communication problems. It was applied prospectively in a consecutive cohort of 79 patients admitted to a tertiary specialist neurorehabilitation unit, of which 86% had significant cognitive/ communicative disabilities. In all, 71 patients (90%) responded to the SPIN. Concurrent validation against a standard numbered graphic rating scale (NGRS) showed a strong overall correlation (rho 0.94 p<0.0001).