Our primary outcome was the measure ’s minimal important difference ( MID ) .
Conclusions In this focused evidence review , the most evidence on key psychometric properties in chronic musculoskeletal pain population s was found for the ODI , RMDQ , SF-36 BPS , NRS , and VAS .
Background Developing successful interventions for chronic musculoskeletal pain requires valid , responsive , and reliable outcome measures .
The Minneapolis VA Evidence -based Synthesis Program completed a focused evidence review on key psychometric properties of 17 self-report measures of pain severity and pain-related functional impairment suitable for clinical research on chronic musculoskeletal pain .
Outcome measures in chronic low back pain
The purpose of this prospect i ve , single site cohort quasi-experimental study was to determine the responsiveness of the numerical rating scale ( NRS ) , Rol and –Morris disability question naire ( RMDQ ) , Oswestry disability index ( ODI ) , pain self-efficacy question naire ( PSEQ ) and the patient-specific functional scale ( PSFS ) in order to determine which would best measure clinical ly meaningful change in a chronic low back pain ( LBP ) population . Several patient-based outcome instruments are currently used to measure treatment effect in the chronic LBP population . However , there is a lack of consensus on what constitutes a “ successful ” outcome , how an important improvement/deterioration has been defined and which outcome measure(s ) best captures the effectiveness of therapeutic interventions for the chronic LBP population . Sixty-three consecutive patients with chronic LBP referred to a back exercise and education class participated in this study ; 48 of the 63 patients had complete data . Five question naires were administered initially and after the 5-week back class intervention . Also at 5 weeks , patients completed a global impression of change as a reflection of meaningful change in patient status . Score changes in the five different question naires were subjected to both distribution- and anchor-based methods : st and ard error of measurement ( SEM ) and receiver operating characteristic ( ROC ) curves to define clinical improvement . From these methods , the minimal clinical ly important difference ( MCID ) defined as the smallest difference that patients and clinicians perceive to be worthwhile is presented for each instrument . Based on the SEM , a point score change of 2.4 in the NRS , 5 in the RMDQ , 17 in the ODI , 11 on the PSEQ , and 1.4 on the PSFS corresponded to the MCID . Based on ROC curve analysis , a point score change of 4 points for both the NRS and RMDQ , 8 points for the ODI , 9 points for the PSEQ and 2 points for the PSFS corresponded to the MCID . The ROC analysis demonstrated that both the PSEQ and PSFS are responsive to clinical ly important change over time . The NRS was found to be least responsive . The exact value of the MCID is not a fixed value and is dependent on the assessment method used to calculate the score change . Based on ROC curve analysis the PSFS and PSEQ were more responsive than the other scales in measuring change in patients with chronic LBP following participation in a back class programme . However , due to the small sample size , the lack of observed worsening of symptoms over time , the single centre and intervention studied these results which need to be interpreted with caution
Our primary outcome was the measure ’s minimal important difference ( MID ) .
Conclusions In this focused evidence review , the most evidence on key psychometric properties in chronic musculoskeletal pain population s was found for the ODI , RMDQ , SF-36 BPS , NRS , and VAS .
Background Developing successful interventions for chronic musculoskeletal pain requires valid , responsive , and reliable outcome measures .
The Minneapolis VA Evidence -based Synthesis Program completed a focused evidence review on key psychometric properties of 17 self-report measures of pain severity and pain-related functional impairment suitable for clinical research on chronic musculoskeletal pain .