Analogue chromatic continuous scale (ACCS): a new method for pain assessment.

A new pain rating scale, Analogue Chromatic Continuous Scale (ACCS), has been developed. The ACCS was tested in fifty consecutive patients suffering from pain of different origins, and compared with a simple descriptive scale (SDS) and a traditional 100 mm visual analogue scale (VAS). VAS and ACCS values showed a highly significant, positive correlation (r = 0.947, P less than 0.001). The means of the VAS and ACCS values, either considered as a whole or stratified according to SDS scores, did not differ significantly. The ACCS proved to be more sensitive than VAS (P less than 0.05), allowing a greater discrimination of grades of pain. Furthermore, the ACCS is very easy to use.