A randomized comparative study assessing efficacy of pain vs comfort scores

This is a single blinded randomized study to compare standard pain scores with comfort scores after caesarean section and to determine whether the technique of pain assessment affects patient’s perceptions and experience after caesarean section. One hundred eighty eligible women will be randomly allocated into 2 groups (i.e. group P and group C) of 90 women each, and will be interviewed 6- 24 hours after caesarean section. Group P women will be asked to rate their pain and group C women will be asked to rate their comfort level according to previously validated structured questionnaire. The outcomes of our study is to assess pain severity as measured by a 0–10-point VNRS for pain compared with an equivalent inverted VNRS for comfort and also by a VAS for pain compared with VAS for comfort. Additional outcomes include assessment of level of worry caused by surgical trauma, the requirement of additional analgesia and patient’s perception of postoperative wound as injury or healing