The Brief Pain Inventory (BPI)

Description: The Brief Pain Inventory (BPI), previously known as the Brief Pain Questionnaire, is a self-administered questionnaire that was originally designed to assess cancer pain. It is now also used as a generic pain questionnaire for other chronic pain conditions. It is available in a short (nine items) and long (17 items) form. The BPI short form is more frequently used and is what is referred to when the BPI is cited in research. It is the one described below. The first, optional, item is a screening question about the respondent’s pain on the day. The questionnaire is then composed of pain drawing diagrams, four items about pain intensity (worst pain, least pain, average pain, pain right now), two items on pain relief treatment or medication, and one item on pain interference, with seven sub-items (general activity, mood, walking ability, normal walk, relations with other people, sleep, and enjoyment of life). Instructions for completing and scoring: The BPI gives two main scores: a pain severity score and a pain interference score. The pain severity score is calculated from the four items about pain intensity. Each item is rated from 0, no pain, to 10, pain as bad as you can imagine, and contributes with the same weight to the final score, ranging from 0 to 40. The pain interference score corresponds to the item on pain interference. The seven subitems are rated from 0, does not interfere, to 10, completely interferes, and contributes with the same weight to the final score, ranging from 0 to 70. The first item, pain drawing diagrams (painful and most painful areas) and the items on pain relief treatment or