Validity and reliability of the Critical-Care Pain Observation Tool (CPOT) for critically ill pediatric patients

by Haruhiko Hoshino, Mitsuki Ikeda, Yujiro Matsuishi, Yuki Enomoto, Nobutake Shimojo, Misaki Kotani, Shunsuke Kobayashi, Takahiro Kido, Satomi Hayashi, Yoko Furuya, Yoshiaki Inoue

In some regions, critically ill pediatric and adult patients are cared for in the same intensive care unit, complicating pain assessment due to mixed age groups. To address this, it is essential to use pain scales that are applicable to a wide age range. The Critical-Care Pain Observation Tool (CPOT) was developed to assess pain in both intubated and non-intubated adult patients. However, its applicability in pediatric patients has not been confirmed. The purpose of this study was to evaluate CPOT for critically ill pediatric patients.

We conducted a prospective observational study in an eight-bed open PICU from January 2022 to March 2023. Three research nurses independently assessed pain using CPOT, the Face, Legs, Activity, Cry, Consolability (FLACC) scale, and an Observational Visual Analog Scale (VAS obs). Criterion-related and construct validity were examined using Spearman’s rank correlation coefficients between CPOT, VAS obs, and FLACC. Diagnostic performance was evaluated via ROC analysis using a FLACC score ≥ 4 as the reference. CPOT scores with and without medical interventions were compared using the Mann–Whitney U test, and inter-rater reliability was assessed with Cohen’s weighted κ.

Ninety-one patients were observed 165 times. CPOT strongly correlated with VAS obs (Spearman’s ρ =  0.87, p Conclusions

This study suggests that CPOT may be a useful tool for pain assessment in pediatric patients.

A bibliometric study: Relevant studies on scar laser therapy since the 21st century

Abstract

To summarise research studies on scar laser therapy since the 21st century using bibliometric methods, and to speculate on the possible development in the future. The literature about scar laser therapy in Web of Science database was searched. CiteSpace and VOSviewer were used to analyse main countries, institutions, journals，subject hotspots and trends, etc. A total of 884 papers have been published since the 21st century. These publications were written by 653 authors from 515 institutions in 58 countries. The United States published 287 papers in this field and ranks first. Laser in Surgery and Medicine is the most widely published journal, with Shumaker as the core author. The main keyword clustering includes terms such as combination therapy, wound healing, fractional photothermolysis, experience, scar formation, etc. CiteSpace and VOSviewer were used to sort out and summarise the countries, institutions, authors, journals, research hotspots and frontier topics of related literature about scar laser therapy since the 21st century. The current situation of its application and basic scientific research in clinical treatments were summarised briefly. This provides a new idea for the development and research of scar laser therapy in the future.