N-PASS (Neonatal Pain, Agitation, Sedation Scale)
Neonatal Pain, Agitation and Sedation Scale (Hummel 2008): five items each -2 to +2.
Open the calculator → Runs in your browser. Data leaves only if you deliberately send a problem report from the interactive tool.
Example
- Crying / irritability
- 0
- Behavior / state
- 0
- Facial expression
- 0
- Extremities / tone
- 0
- Vital signs
- 0
- Gestational age
- 38 weeks
Result: N-PASS pain 0 (no significant pain); sedation 0 (no sedation) per Hummel 2008.
The tool opens with these values already filled in. Replace them with your own.
What the result means
- pain >3
- Pain/agitation present - intervention indicated (Hummel 2008).
- preterm <30 wk
- Add 1 point per week below 30 weeks gestational age (Hummel 2008 preterm adjustment).
- sedation -1 to -2
- Light sedation.
- sedation -3 to -4
- Deep sedation.
- sedation <=-5
- Over-sedation - reduce or hold opioid/sedative.
What you enter
- Crying / irritability (-2..+2)
- Behavior / state (-2..+2)
- Facial expression (-2..+2)
- Extremities / tone (-2..+2)
- Vital signs (-2..+2)
- Gestational age
How this is calculated
Hummel P, Puchalski M, Creech SD, Weiss MG. Clinical reliability and validity of the N-PASS: neonatal pain, agitation and sedation scale with prolonged pain. J Perinatol. 2008;28(1):55-60. Read the source ↗
A reference and educational tool. Not medical, legal, or financial advice, and not a substitute for clinician judgment.