Tariq’s pain scale
Tariq Hayat Khan, MBBS, MCPS, FCPS,
Consultant Anesthesiologist & Pain Specialist
KRL General Hospital Islamabad (Pakistan)
VAS is in fact, the standard in pain measurement and a valuable tool in comparative studies, however, the author has very serious views on the actual use of VAS in practice or research. It needs a line to be drawn by a pen or pencil, briefing to the patient to make him understand and then recording of the results, usually on multiple times. The author has not seen it in use anywhere in Pakistan, even by our seniors. The situation is probably not different in many other countries. Keeping the difficulty in mind, the author devised a handy PVC sheet scale. size of a ballpoint pen, to be tucked in a pocket. On the front it has red and blue colors and on the reverse side, a scale marked from 0-10 mm. The patient is instructed to move a movable counter along the length of the scale. The sample scales were distributed among the participants of PSA Conference 2009 at Bhurban, Islamabad (Pakistan).
