The influence of gestational age in the psychometric testing of the Bernese Pain Scale for Neonates

BMC Pediatrics

Table 13 Results of the ROC analyses for the modified Bernese Pain Scale for Neonates total score, separated for GA-groups

	Heel Stick Phases of Measurement Points t1-t5
	AUC	Cut-off	Sensitivity	Specificity
	Range (Median)	points	Range (Median)	Range (Median)
Extremely Preterm Neonates	0.707–0.878 (0.801)
N = 42–48		0.5	0.734–0.875 (0.839)	0.398–0.562 (0.538)
		1.5	0.637–0.765 (0.666)	0.691–0.853 (0.713)
		2.5	0.410–0.594 (0.494)	0.901–0.970 (0.945)
Very Preterm Neonates	0.810–0.930 (0.852)
N = 34–44		0.5	0.849–0.970 (0.905)	0.284–0.606 (0.439)
		1.5	0.745–0.901 (0.811)	0.638–0.728 (0.680)
		2.5	0.596–0.785 (0.648)	0.864–0.977 (0.902)
Moderate to Late Preterm Neonates	0.874–0.941 (0.927)
N = 21–37		1.5	0.900–0.990 (0.970)	0.564–0.660 (0.581)
		2.5	0.763–0.950 (0.897)	0.705–0.832 (0.787)
		3.5	0.532–0.763 (0.675)	0.879–0.975 (0.933)
Full-term Neonates	0.893–0.906
N = 14–20		2.5	0.942–0.959	0.419–0.664
		3.5	0.807–0.888	0.808–0.824
		4.5	0.714–0.831	0.836–0.896
		5.5	0.423–0.751	0.892–0.969

Note. The PIPP-R was the reference value, with a cut-off point of 6.5 that discriminated between no/low pain (≤ 6 points) and moderate to high pain (≥ 7 points); AUC = Area under the curve; [95% CI] = 95% confidence intervals of the AUC; the results were originally computed separately for each rater and aggregated assuming normal distribution of the parameter; Range = heel stick phases of measurement points t1-t5; bold-set font = cut-offs with sensitivity and specificity nearest 80%

ISSN: 1471-2431