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 .
Minimal Clinically Important Change for Pain Intensity, Functional Status, and General Health Status in Patients With Nonspecific Low Back Pain
Study Design . Cohort study . Objectives . To estimate the Minimal Clinical ly Important Change ( MCIC ) of the pain intensity numerical rating scale ( PI-NRS ) , the Quebec Back Pain Disability Scale ( QBPDS ) , and the Euroqol ( EQ ) in patients with low back pain . Summary of Background Data . MCIC can provide valuable information for research ers , healthcare providers , and policymakers . Methods . Data from a r and omized controlled trial with 442 patients with low back pain were used . The MCIC was estimated over a 12-week period , and three different methods were used : 1 ) mean change scores , 2 ) minimal detectable change , and 3 ) optimal cutoff point in receiver operant curves . The global perceived effect scale ( GPE ) was used as an external criterion . The effect of initial scores on the MCIC was also assessed . Results . The  MCIC of the PI-NRS ranged from 3.5 to 4.7 points in (sub)acute patients and 2.5 to 4.5 points in chronic patients with low back pain . The  MCIC of the QBPDS was estimated between 17.5 to 32.9 points and 8.5 to 24.6 points for (sub)acute and chronic patients with low back pain . The  MCIC for the EQ ranged from 0.07 to 0.58 in (sub)acute patients and 0.09 to 0.28 in patients with chronic low back pain . Conclusion . Reporting the percentage of patients who have made a MCIC adds to the interpretability of study results . We present a range of MCIC values and advocate the choice of a single MCIC value according to the specific context
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 .