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Researchers develop five-category scale for evaluating ophthalmic pain
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A new five-category scale proved adequate for assessing the severity of ophthalmic pain, according to a study evaluating the instrument. "The [Eye Sensation Scale] involves rating the severity of the ophthalmic sensation that is most important to the patient and provides the opportunity to describe other attributes or effects of the sensation," the authors said.
Konrad Pesudovs, PhD, FAAO, and colleagues developed the scale through data collected from focus groups in which patients described their ophthalmic pain experiences, referencing the severity level, and commented on several proposed pain scale designs.
The researchers then analyzed transcripts of the focus groups, participants' category choices and scale preferences to determine the number of response categories and labels to use in the final scale, according to the study.
The final instrument was then evaluated using a mail-out questionnaire, the authors noted.
The researchers identified five ophthalmic pain domains: intensity; nature, which includes subdomains of physical sensation, temporal patterning and simile/metaphor; physical effects; emotional effects; and behavioral effects, according to the study.
Participants most commonly used physical sensation, behavioral effects and physical effects descriptors, the authors noted.
Additionally, the participants preferred a five-category scale. The higher frequency severity descriptors they used formed the basis for the category labels: extreme, severe, moderate, mild and none.
"Notably, many participants rejected the word 'pain' in favor of 'discomfort' or 'light sensitivity,'" the authors said.
"Evaluation indicated the adequacy of the final instrument," they said.
The study is published in the August issue of Optometry and Vision Science.