Assessment of postoperative pain intensity after laparoscopic cholecystectomy: Comparative analysis of three rating scales in terms of scores and patient preferences

Objective: To compare three rating scales in assessment of postoperative pain intensity after laparoscopic cholecystectomy Methods: A total 102 patients who underwent elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy surgery were participated on a voluntary basis in this cross-sectional questionnaire survey. The questionnaire form elicited items on sociodemographic characteristics of patients, pain characteristics and the pain intensity assessment via three scales including Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), Numerical Rating Scale (NRS), Verbal Descriptor Scale (VDS). Results: Mean(SD) VAS, VDS and NRS scores were 4.7(1.3), 2.8(0.7) and 4.5(1.2), respectively. VDS (67.6%) was the most commonly preferred scale by patients, as followed by VAS (23.5%) and NRS (8.8%). Positive significant correlations were noted between each scale (r: ranged from 0.809 between VAS and VDS to 0.865 between VDS and NRS, p<0.001 for each). There was a high level of inter-scale concordance overall (Cronbach's alpha: 0.910), including VAS x VDS (Cronbach's alpha: 0.820), VAS x NRS (Cronbach’s alpha=0.906) and VDS x NRS (Cronbach’s alpha=0.868). Conclusion: In conclusion, our findings demonstrate that all three scales (VAS, NRS, VDS) provide reliable and valid data with strong correlations and a high level of inter-scale concordance in assessing postoperative pain intensity in laparoscopic cholecystectomy patients. However, VDS appears to be the best scale in assessing pain intensity after laparoscopic cholecystectomy surgery with respect to patient preference rates as well as its strong correlation with other scales, particularly the NRS.