Brief Pain Inventory (BPI)
The Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) is a valuable questionnaire designed to assess pain levels in cancer patients and individuals suffering from chronic pain. Developed in 1989 by Dr. Charles Cleeland, the BPI evaluates both the intensity of pain (the sensory dimension) and its impact on daily activities (the reactive dimension). The tool is widely utilized in clinical and research environments to help oncologists understand patients' pain experiences and tailor appropriate pain management strategies, which is particularly crucial for those with terminal conditions.
Administering the BPI requires no special preparation; patients can complete the short version in about five minutes, while the longer version takes approximately ten minutes. The results provide a scoring system from 0 to 10, reflecting severity and impact, which can be quickly analyzed to inform care teams. Although the BPI has been validated and translated into twenty-five languages, challenges may arise if patients are unable or reluctant to accurately communicate their pain levels. Overall, the BPI is an essential tool in managing cancer-related pain, emphasizing the importance of addressing this complex aspect of patient care.
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Brief Pain Inventory (BPI)
DEFINITION: The Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) is a questionnaire that measures pain in cancer patients and other patients suffering from chronic pain in a rapid, efficient manner. The BPI provides information on the intensity of pain (known as the sensory dimension) and the impact of pain on a patient’s daily routine (known as the reactive dimension). The BPI was developed in 1989 by Charles Cleeland, M.D., while with the Pain Research Group at the University of Wisconsin. BPI is widely used in both clinical and research settings.
Cancers diagnosed or treated: All cancers that cause chronic or severe sporadic pain
Why performed: The BPI is administered to determine cancer patients’ level of pain. Once the level of pain is determined, oncologists work to manage the painful symptoms of cancer and to make patients more comfortable. Pain management is especially important for terminal patients.
Cancer pain appears when a tumor presses against organs, nerves, or bone. Treatments for cancer such as chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and especially surgery also can cause pain.
The Veterans Administration and the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations consider pain the fifth vital sign and require physicians to ask patients about their pain.
Patient preparation: Taking the BPI requires no patient preparation.
Steps of the procedure: The questionnaire for the BPI is usually filled out by the patient. In some cases, a doctor, nurse, or social worker helps by interviewing the patient and recording the answers. Filling out the short version of the BPI takes about five minutes, while the long version takes about ten minutes.
After the procedure: After the patient completes the BPI, it is scored on a scale of 0–10 for both the severity and the impact dimensions of the pain.
Risks: There are no inherent risks involved with the BPI. Its validity has been tested many times, and it has been translated into twenty-five languages. The only possible problem involved with the BPI is a patient’s inability or reluctance to report pain accurately.
Results: The results of an individual patient’s BPI can be tabulated in a few minutes and provide care teams with an overall assessment of a patient's pain. The results help oncologists, nurses, and other caregivers develop a pain management plan for the cancer patient.
Bibliography
Atkinson, Thomas M., et al. "Measurement of Affective and Activity Pain Interference Using the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI): Cancer and Leukemia Group B 70903." Pain Medicine 13.11 (2012): 1417–24. Print.
Atkinson, Thomas M., et al. "Using Confirmatory Factor Analysis to Evaluate Construct Validity of the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI)." Journal of Pain and Symptom Management 41.3 (2011): 558–65. Print.
“Brief Pain Inventory (BPI).” MD Anderson Cancer Center, www.mdanderson.org/research/departments-labs-institutes/departments-divisions/symptom-research/symptom-assessment-tools/brief-pain-inventory.html. Accessed 5 July 2024.
Nguyen, J. "Palliative Response and Functional Interference Outcomes Using the Brief Pain Inventory for Spinal Bony Metastases Treated with Conventional Radiotherapy." Clinical Oncology 23.7 (2011): 485–91. Print.
Pelayo-Alvarez, Marta, Santiago Perez-Hoyos, and Yolanda Agra-Varela. "Reliability and Concurrent Validity of the Palliative Outcome Scale, the Rotterdam Symptom Checklist, and the Brief Pain Inventory." Journal of Palliative Medicine 16.8 (2013): 867–74. Print.
Wong, Karrie, et al. "Minimal Clinically Important Differences in the Brief Pain Inventory in Patients with Bone Metastases." Supportive Care in Cancer 21.7 (2013): 1893–99. Print.