A core outcome set to assess chronic pain interference and impact on emotional functioning for children and young people with cerebral palsy.
Nadine L Smith, Noula Gibson, Christine Imms and 2 others
PMID 40241234WHAT IT FOUND
Consensus identified 20 tools to assess how chronic pain affects daily life and emotions in children and young people with cerebral palsy, including proxy and observational options for those who cannot self-report.
Key findings
01Stakeholder workshops classified 13 of 42 candidate tools as definitely exclude, leaving 29 tools for the Delphi survey.
02The final core outcome set contains 20 tools: nine self-report tools and 11 proxy or observational tools.
03Four observational tools in the set can be used with children and young people who cannot self-report their pain experience.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The participants were mainly Australian English-speaking clinicians, researchers and caregivers, so the set may not fit other languages or health systems. In the Delphi survey, clinicians and researchers outnumbered people with lived experience, and caregivers outnumbered young people, which may have shaped the tools selected. The study selected tools by consensus; it did not test whether using the set improves pain care or patient outcomes. Some tools still need cross-cultural validation or modifications for children with diverse communication or cognitive abilities.
Declared interests
The authors declared no competing interests. The study received research support from the Centre of Research Excellence: CP ACHIEVE, funded by the NHMRC (Grant and 117175).
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the final set as evidence that any tool improves pain, function or quality of life. The study reached consensus on assessment tools; it did not test patient outcomes.
Summarised by AI from the full paper, without a clinician reviewing it. Check it against the source before it changes what you do. Read it on PubMed →