Absolute MCID was strongly associated with baseline pain , explaining approximately two-thirds of the variation , and to a lesser degree with the operational definition of minimum pain relief and clinical condition .
MCID  for chronic pain relief vary considerably .
Baseline pain is strongly associated with absolute , but not relative , measures .
To a much lesser degree , MCID is also influenced by the operational definition of relevant pain relief and possibly by clinical condition .
BACKGROUND The minimum clinical ly important difference ( MCID ) is used to interpret the relevance of treatment effects , e.g. , when developing clinical guidelines , evaluating trial results or planning sample sizes .
There is currently no agreement on an appropriate MCID in chronic pain and little is known about which context ual factors cause variation .
METHODS This is a systematic review .
Patient-perceived satisfactory improvement (PPSI): Interpreting meaningful change in pain from the patient’s perspective
Abstract The assessment of clinical ly meaningful changes in  patient‐reported pain  has become increasingly important when interpreting results of clinical studies . However , proposed response criteria , such as the minimal clinical ly important difference , do not correspond with the growing need for information on truly meaningful , individual improvements . The aim of the present study was to investigate satisfactory improvements in pain from the patient ’s perspective . Data were collected in a 2‐week prospect i ve study of 181 arthritis patients treated with a local corticosteroid injection .  Baseline and follow‐up pain were assessed on 100 mm visual analogue scales for pain intensity ( VAS‐PI ) . At baseline , patients also marked a hypothetical level on a VAS‐PI representing a satisfactory improvement in pain . Patient‐perceived satisfactory improvement ( PPSI ) was constructed using a 5‐point categorical rating of change scale at follow‐up as the anchor . PPSI was associated with a minimal reduction of 30 mm or 55 % on the VAS‐PI . Since absolute change in pain associated with satisfactory improvement proved highly dependent on baseline pain , percent change scores performed better in classifying improved patients . The 55 % threshold for satisfactory improvement was consistent over the course of treatment and reasonably consistent across groups of patients . Our data suggest that PPSI is a clinical ly relevant and stable concept for interpreting truly meaningful improvements in pain from the individual perspective
Absolute MCID was strongly associated with baseline pain , explaining approximately two-thirds of the variation , and to a lesser degree with the operational definition of minimum pain relief and clinical condition .
MCID  for chronic pain relief vary considerably .
Baseline pain is strongly associated with absolute , but not relative , measures .
To a much lesser degree , MCID is also influenced by the operational definition of relevant pain relief and possibly by clinical condition .
BACKGROUND The minimum clinical ly important difference ( MCID ) is used to interpret the relevance of treatment effects , e.g. , when developing clinical guidelines , evaluating trial results or planning sample sizes .
There is currently no agreement on an appropriate MCID in chronic pain and little is known about which context ual factors cause variation .
METHODS This is a systematic review .