Assessment of Pain Using a Facial Movement Diagnostic System in Intensive Care Patients Who Cannot Verbally Communicate

What this Trial Is About

Pain is a complex and subjective experience especially challenging to assess in patients who are conscious but unable to communicate verbally, such as those in intensive care. This research aims to evaluate a pain diagnostic system that measures facial movements using the Facial Action Coding system to objectively assess pain levels in surgical patients who cannot clearly express their pain. The study addresses concerns that healthcare professionals may underestimate pain in these patients and seeks to improve pain assessment accuracy. Participants will be monitored during four different procedural events while conscious in intensive care. During each procedure, twelve pictures of the patient's face will be taken over one minute. After each procedure, patients will rate their pain on a numerical scale from 0 (no pain) to 10 (severe pain). Expert nurses will also assess the patients' pain by evaluating their facial expressions in the pictures, and the Facial Action Coding system will independently score the pain from the images. These assessments will be compared to determine which method aligns closest with the patients' own pain ratings. Participants will undergo pain assessments during intensive care procedures, including facial imaging and self-reported pain scores. The study will analyze these data alongside expert nurse evaluations and computerized facial coding results. The main outcome is pain diagnosis accuracy during each procedure in the intensive care unit. The study involves conscious patients aged 18 and older who cannot communicate verbally but have a Glasgow Coma Score between 13 and 15. The total participation duration depends on the number of procedures each patient undergoes.

ASSESSMENT OF PAIN USING A PAIN DIAGNOSTIC SYSTEM THAT MEASURS FACIAL MOVEMENT USING