A Longitudinal Analysis of Total Pain Scores for a Panel of Patients Treated by Pain Clinics

BACKGROUND: There is a critical necessity to identify psychometric properties of the total pain score as a measurement of pain management effectiveness in the clinic. PURPOSE: In this article, we perform the analysis of the global pain scores from a panel of patients treated by 10 pain management physicians in a single group practice. BASIC PROCEDURES: The pain measurement consists of 4 pain subscales, namely physical pain, emotions, clinical outcome, and activities. A panel of 130 patients with 4 pain measurements is available to perform longitudinal analysis of the total pain scores. The analysis includes the following: (1) confirmatory factor analysis of the global pain scores with 4 related dimensions, (2) the stability of the pain scores between 2 clinical visits, (3) the change trajectories of pain scores in 4 waves of the pain measurement, and (4) the detection of physician variability in patients’ treatment outcomes measured by the reduction of total pain scores. MAIN FINDINGS: The global pain scores were relatively stable between time 1 and time 2 clinical visits. The analysis indicated that there was a decrease in pain with longitudinal advancement in treatment. It also indicated that there was no significant change in this improvement with respect to difference in physicians involved in providing treatment. PRINCIPAL CONCLUSION: While the results indicated a decrease in pain with an alleviation in treatment provided to the patient, the article delineates a well-thought scientific approach to the targeted problem.