The FLACC scale or Face, Legs, Activity, Cry, Consolability scale is a measurement used to assess pain for children between the ages of 2 months and 7 years or individuals that are unable to communicate their pain. The scale is scored in a range of 0–10 with 0 representing no pain. The scale has five criteria, which are each assigned a score of 0, 1 or 2.[citation needed]
Occasional grimace or frown, withdrawn, uninterested
Frequent to constant quivering chin, clenched jaw
Legs
Normal position or relaxed
Uneasy, restless, tense
Kicking, or legs drawn up
Activity
Lying quietly, normal position, moves easily
Squirming, shifting, back and forth, tense
Arched, rigid or jerking
Cry
No cry (awake or asleep)
Moans or whimpers; occasional complaint
Crying steadily, screams or sobs, frequent complaints
Consolability
Content, relaxed
Reassured by occasional touching, hugging or being talked to, distractible
Difficult to console or comfort
The FLACC scale has also been found to be accurate for use with adults in intensive-care units (ICU) who are unable to speak due to intubation. The FLACC scale offered the same evaluation of pain as did the Checklist of Nonverbal Pain Indicators (CNPI) scale which is used in ICUs.[2]
^FLACC ScaleArchived 2008-12-10 at the Wayback Machine (Extracted from The FLACC: A behavioral scale for scoring postoperative pain in young children, by S Merkel and others, 1997, Pediatr Nurse 23(3), p. 293–297)
^Voepel-Lewis T, Zanotti J, Dammeyer JA, Merkel S (2010). "Reliability and validity of the face, legs, activity, cry, consolability behavioral tool in assessing acute pain in critically ill patients". Am. J. Crit. Care. 19 (1): 55–61. doi:10.4037/ajcc2010624. PMID20045849.
