The use of the bispectral index in the detection of pain in mechanically ventilated adults in the intensive care unit: A review of the literature

BACKGROUND Pain assessment is an immense challenge for clinicians, especially in the context of the intensive care unit, where the patient is often unable to communicate verbally. Several methods of pain assessment have been proposed to assess pain in this environment. These include both behavioural observation scales and evaluation of physiological measurements such as heart rate and blood pressure. Although numerous validation studies pertaining to behavioural observation scales have been published, several limitations associated with using these measures for pain assessment remain. Over the past few years, researchers have been interested in the use of the bispectral index monitoring system as a proxy for the evaluation of encephalography readings to assess the level of anesthesia and, potentially, analgesia. OBJECTIVES To synthesize the main studies exploring the use of the bispectral index monitoring system for pain assessment, to guide future research in adults under sedation in the intensive care unit. METHOD The EMBASE, Medline, CINAHL and PsycINFO databases were searched for studies published between 1996 and 2013 that evaluated the use of the bispectral index in assessing pain. RESULTS Most studies conclude that nociceptive stimulation causes a significant increase in the bispectral index and revealed the importance of controlling certain confounding variables such as the level of sedation. DISCUSSION Further studies are needed to clearly demonstrate the relationship between nociceptive stimuli and the bispectral index, as well as the specificity of the bispectral index in detecting pain.