Visual Analogue Scale - a Quality Assurance Study

Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) - a Quality Assurance Research Study to Assess the Quality of the VAS as a Means for Measuring Postoperative Pain.

It has come to our attention that there is not a general consensus of how to apply Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) as a tool in measuring pain amongst postoperative patients in Denmark.

The assumption is that patients will grade the level of pain differently dependent on how VAS is presented.

To ensure the data is valid for the study it has been decided to base the research material on four different VAS usage, as it is most often used in clinical practise in Denmark. Which in this case implies VAS horizontal, with and without endpoint, and VAS vertical, with and without endpoint. Every participant will grade their pain on each of the listed VAS representations. Furthermore, as a guideline, the participant will be asked to grade the pain on a Numerical Ranking Scale (NRS).

The ordering of VAS lines will be subject to randomization, for each participant

Inclusion Criteria:

• Patient must have undergone surgery within the last five days
• The patient must be able and willing to participate in the study
• Must be at 18 years of age or older
• A patient can only participate one time.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Previously included patients
• Medically treated patients Linguistic difficulties
• Mentally or physically exhausted