2. The NeonatalInfantsPainScale or NIPS is used in children
less thanone year of age.Children at this age are not able to tell
us if they are in pain. This scale uses body languageto help us to
understandif a childis in pain.
3. A child is evaluated and eitherscored a 0 or 1 in each category based
on their behavior. A total score is calculated. Most of thetime a score
greater than3 tells us a child is likely to be experiencingpain or
discomfort.
4. It is also a behavioral scale and can beutilizedwith both full-
term and pre-term infants.The tool was adapted from the
CHEOPSscale and uses thebehaviors thatnurses have
described a beingindicativeof infantpain ordistress.
5. The is a behavioral scale for evaluatingpostoperative pain in young
children. It can be used to monitor theeffectiveness of interventions
for reducingthe pain and discomfort.
Children'sHospital of Eastern Ontario Pain Scale (CHEOPS)
11. Eachbehavioralindicatorisscored with0 or 1 except
"cry", which hasthree possibledescriptors therefore,
being scored witha 0, 1 or 2.
See the NIPS scalefor the descriptionof infantbehavior
in each indicatorgroup.Infants shouldbe observed for
one minute inorder to fullyassess each indicator.
12. Total pain scores range from 0-7. The suggestedinterventionsbased
upon the infant'slevel of pain are listed below.
The difficulty with any tool thatis notself- report is the ability to
differentiatebetweenpain and agitation,however, the non-
pharmacological interventionmay help differentiatebetweenthesetwo
(i.e. changingthe wet diaper, feedingthe infant,repositioning, etc.).
