Pain scales
FPS was used to measure the child’s selfreported
pain during 2 phases: at T0 and at T3.
This scale consisted of 6 cartoon faces with
varying expressions ranging from very happy
to very sad. The child rated the pain intensity
on a scale, with point 0 being no pain and point
10 being the worst pain.
At T0, at the end of T2 and at T3 the FLACC
was used to assess the behavioral reactions to
pain. The FLACC pain scale assesses five
behavioral areas (facial expression of the
child, the position of the legs, activity, crying,
and consolability) with scores ranging from 0
to 2 for each item; assessment of behavioral
scores was 0=no pain; 1-3=mild pain, 4-6=
moderate pain; 7-10=severe pain. All measurements
were conducted by the same psychologist
that was blind to randomization group. In
Table 2 are summarized the measurements of
the parameters at time points.