🩹 Critical-Care Pain Observation Tool (CPOT)
Critical-Care Pain Observation Tool (CPOT), a behavioral pain scale for patients unable to self-report.
Critical-Care Pain Observation Tool (CPOT)
Facial expression
Body movements
Muscle tension (passive flexion/extension of the upper limb)
Ventilator compliance (intubated) / vocalization (extubated)
When to use
Use to assess pain in nonverbal/sedated/ventilated ICU patients by scoring four behavioral domains.
How it works
Four domains (facial expression, body movements, muscle tension, and ventilator compliance or vocalization) each scored 0–2; total 0–8; a score > 2 suggests significant pain warranting analgesia.
Key points
- CPOT relies on observable behavior, making it usable when self-report is impossible (original synthesis · not guideline verbatim).
- A change in score after an analgesic is a useful response indicator, not just the absolute value.
- Self-report remains the gold standard whenever the patient can communicate.
References
Decision support for licensed clinicians only; not a substitute for clinical judgement, diagnosis or local protocols.