METHODS:
A prospective observational study was conducted in Beijing Tiantan Hospital. A total of 118 patients admitted to intensive care unit (ICU) after craniotomy was consecutively enrolled during August 2014 to August 2015. CPOT and visual analogue scale (VAS) were used to assess the pain before, during and 20 minutes after the removal of central venous catheters, and the difference was compared between two scores at three time points. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to determine the optimal cut-off values for evaluation of the sensitivity and specificity of CPOT. Patients' complaint of pain was considered the "gold-standard".