Pain Assessment Scale and Clinical Recovery in 2023 OLP Study
The 2023 prospective observational study of 66 patients with oral lichen planus utilized the Visual Analog Scale (VAS), Numeric Rating Scale (NRS), Short Form McGill Pain Questionnaire (SF-MPQ), and Verbal Rating Scale (VRS) to assess pain intensity, though the study does not report a complete clinical recovery percentage. 1
Study Design and Pain Assessment Methods
This prospective observational study enrolled 66 patients diagnosed with oral lichen planus and employed a comprehensive pain assessment approach using four validated scales simultaneously 1:
- Visual Analog Scale (VAS) - continuous 0-10 scale
- Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) - discrete 0-10 numerical scale
- Short Form McGill Pain Questionnaire (SF-MPQ) - multidimensional pain assessment
- Verbal Rating Scale (VRS) - categorical descriptive scale
All four scales were administered at baseline and repeated after two weeks of treatment to evaluate treatment response 1.
Key Findings on Pain Reduction
All four pain assessment scales demonstrated significant sensitivity to treatment changes, with statistically significant pain reduction observed across all measures (p < 0.001) after two weeks of treatment. 1 The study established strong positive correlations between all four scales (p < 0.001), suggesting that results from any of these instruments are comparable and interchangeable in clinical practice 1.
Regression analysis confirmed that scores on each scale could significantly predict scores on the other scales (p < 0.001), and these correlations remained robust even after adjusting for age and education level 1.
Clinical Recovery Data
The study does not report a specific percentage of patients achieving complete clinical recovery. The primary focus was validating the correlation between different pain assessment tools rather than documenting complete resolution rates 1. The study measured pain reduction as the primary outcome rather than complete clinical remission.
Clinical Context from Supporting Evidence
For context, other research on oral lichen planus treatment outcomes shows variable recovery rates. In photodynamic therapy studies for oral leukoplakia (a related condition), complete response rates range from 16.49% to 88.89%, with recurrence rates of 0% to 41% over 1-30 months of follow-up 2. However, these data are from different patient populations and treatment modalities, so direct comparison is not appropriate.
Practical Implications
The 2023 study validates that clinicians can confidently use any of these four pain scales (VAS, NRS, SF-MPQ, or VRS) interchangeably when assessing oral lichen planus patients, as they show strong correlation and equivalent sensitivity to treatment changes. 1 The NRS-V (visual numeric rating scale) has been identified in other guidelines as having the highest success rate (91%) and best sensitivity in critically ill patients, making it a practical first choice 3.