Korean J Pain.  2015 Jan;28(1):32-38. 10.3344/kjp.2015.28.1.32.

A Pilot Study of the Correlation between the Numeric Rating Scale used to Evaluate "Geop" and Questionnaires on Pain Perception

• Koo BS
• Jung MJ
• Lee JH
• Jin HC
• Lee JS
• Kim YI

• KMID: 2278250
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3344/kjp.2015.28.1.32

Abstract

BACKGROUND
The word "geop" is a unique Korean term commonly used to describe fright, fear and anxiety, and similar concepts. The purpose of this pilot study is to examine the correlation between the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) score of geop and three different questionnaires on pain perception.
METHODS
Patients aged 20 to 70 years who visited our outpatient pain clinics were evaluated. They were requested to rate the NRS score (range: 0-100) if they felt geop. Next, they completed questionnaires on pain perception, in this case the Korean version of the Pain Sensitivity Questionnaire (PSQ), the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS), and the Pain Anxiety Symptoms Scale (PASS). The correlations among each variable were evaluated by statistical analyses.
RESULTS
There was no statistically significant correlation between the NRS score of geop and the PSQ score (r = 0.075, P = 0.5605). The NRS score of geop showed a significant correlation with the PCS total score (r = 0.346, P = 0.0063). Among the sub-scales, Rumination (r = 0.338, P = 0.0077) and Magnification (r = 0.343, P = 0.0069) were correlated with the NRS score of geop. In addition, the NRS score of geop showed a significant correlation with the PASS total score (r = 0.475, P = 0.0001). The cognitive (r = 0.473, P = 0.0002) and fear factors (r = 0.349, P = 0.0063) also showed significant correlations with the NRS score of geop.
CONCLUSIONS
This study marks the first attempt to introduce the concept of "geop." The NRS score of geop showed a moderate positive correlation with the total PCS and PASS score. However, further investigations are required before the "geop" concept can be used practically in clinical fields.

Keyword

Anxiety; Correlation; Fear; Pain; Scale; Symptom

MeSH Terms

Anxiety
Catastrophization
Humans
Outpatients
Pain Clinics
Pain Perception*
Pilot Projects*
Surveys and Questionnaires*

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