Clinical validation of the Multidimensional Assessment of Pain Scale

Summary Background: The Multidimensional Assessment Pain Scale (MAPS), was developed to measure postoperative pain in critically ill preverbal children. Following preliminary psychometric testing, additional validation of this 5‐category 10‐point scale was required. This article reports the results of a follow‐up validation study that aimed to evaluate the clinical validity and utility of the MAPS. Methods: The MAPS includes five categories and was tested in response to analgesics in a convenience sample of 19 postoperative critically ill children (94% intubated) aged between 0 and 31 months at a tertiary referral hospital in Western Australia. Convergent and concurrent validity was tested using the MAPS, Faces Legs Activity Cry Consolability (FLACC), and Visual Analog Scale observer (VASobs). Clinical utility of the MAPS was also evaluated. Results: The Multidimensional Assessment Pain Scale scores decreased significantly by four points (40% of total score) after the administration of a potent dose of morphine (P