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Behavioral Observational Pain Scale (BOPS) for Post-Op Pediatric Pain

Observational postoperative pain scale for children age 1-7 years.

Behavioral Observational Pain Scale (BOPS) for Post-Op Pediatric Pain
Facial expression
Verbalisation
Body position
Result0 points

Score below the analgesia threshold of 3.

When to use

  • Assessing postoperative pain in young children (~1-7 years) who cannot reliably self-report using visual analogue tools.

Formula

Sum of 3 domains (facial expression, verbalisation, body position), each 0-2. Range 0-6; score >=3 suggests need for analgesia.

References

  1. Hesselgard K, et al. Paediatr Anaesth. 2007;17(10):951-9.