OPQRST is a mnemonic used to assess which domain?

• A. Respiratory status
• B. Chest wall movement
• C. Pain
• D. Mental status

Answer: (C)

OPQRST is used to describe the patient’s pain experience. It covers Onset (when it began), Provocation/Palliation (what makes it worse or better), Quality (the nature of the pain, such as sharp or dull), Radiation (where else it travels), Severity (how intense it is), and Time (how long it has been present). This structured approach helps you characterize the pain so you can judge urgency, potential causes, and the need for analgesia or further evaluation. It specifically focuses on pain, rather than other domains. Assessing respiratory status involves breathing rate, effort, oxygenation, and lung sounds; evaluating chest wall movement looks at excursion and tenderness; assessing mental status examines orientation and responsiveness. So OPQRST is the best fit for assessing the pain domain.