From analyses of individual patient data ( seven studies , 918 patients ) , we found baseline pain strongly associated with absolute , but not relative , MCID as patients with higher baseline pain needed larger pain reduction to perceive relief .
Conclusions The MCID in acute pain varied greatly between studies and was influenced by baseline pain , definitions of improved patients and study design .
Background The minimum clinical ly important difference ( MCID ) is used to interpret the clinical relevance of results reported by trials and meta-analyses as well as to plan sample sizes in new studies .
However , there is a lack of consensus about the size of MCID in acute pain , which is a core symptom affecting patients across many clinical conditions .
What constitutes a clinically important pain reduction in patients after third molar surgery?
BACKGROUND For patients with surgical third molar removal , it is unknown what constitutes a clinical ly important change in patients ' visual analogue scale ( VAS ) reports of pain intensity . OBJECTIVES To determine what constitutes a clinical ly important change in pain intensity on a VAS following surgical removal of the third molar . METHODS The study population consisted of patients participating in three r and omized trials . Patients were asked to rate their pain three times per day over a period of seven days on a 100 mm VAS after surgical removal of the third molar . Global Perceived Effect was measured on day 1 and day 7 and was used as the external criterion for assessing clinical ly important pain reduction . Global Perceived Effect scores of 6 ( ' much improved ' ) or higher were classified as clinical ly ' successful ' , and scores of 5 ( ' slightly improved ' ) or below were classified as clinical ly ' unsuccessful ' . For each trial , the mean absolute and relative changes in VAS scores were calculated for both ' successful ' and ' unsuccessful ' treatments . Sensitivity and specificity analyses were performed . RESULTS The patients who reported ' successful ' pain reduction showed a relative pain reduction of ≥69 % and an absolute pain reduction > 2.5 cm on the VAS , whereas patients who classified their pain reduction as ' unsuccessful ' had a relative pain reduction of ≤18.5 % and an absolute pain reduction < 0.5 cm on the VAS . Furthermore , sensitivity and specificity analyses showed that a cut-off point of ≥50 % relative pain reduction exhibited the best balance of sensitivity and specificity . CONCLUSION Relative pain reduction of ≥50 % and an absolute pain reduction of ≥2.5 cm on the VAS were most accurate in predicting a successful pain reduction after a given treatment
From analyses of individual patient data ( seven studies , 918 patients ) , we found baseline pain strongly associated with absolute , but not relative , MCID as patients with higher baseline pain needed larger pain reduction to perceive relief .
Conclusions The MCID in acute pain varied greatly between studies and was influenced by baseline pain , definitions of improved patients and study design .
Background The minimum clinical ly important difference ( MCID ) is used to interpret the clinical relevance of results reported by trials and meta-analyses as well as to plan sample sizes in new studies .
However , there is a lack of consensus about the size of MCID in acute pain , which is a core symptom affecting patients across many clinical conditions .