Measuring Pain in Systemic Sclerosis: Comparison of the Short-form McGill Pain Questionnaire Versus a Single-item Measure of Pain

Abstract

The substantial overlap between sensory and affective subscales of the MPQ-SF and the similarity of the MPQ-SF and NRS pain measures compared to other patient-reported outcomes suggest that the 15-item MPQ-SF does not provide tangible advantages compared to the single-item pain NRS. These findings support recommendations to use a single-item NRS pain measure in SSc as it is less burdensome to patients than the MPQ-SF.