Evaluation of a Musculoskeletal Digital Assessment Routing Tool (DART): Crossover Noninferiority Randomized Pilot Trial
Authors: Lowe Cabella , Sephton Ruth , Marsh William , Morrissey Dylan 
Published: June 2024

Background

Musculoskeletal conditions account for 16% of global disability, resulting in a negative effect on patients and increasing demand for health care use. Triage directing patients to appropriate level intervention improving health outcomes and efficiency has been prioritized. We developed a musculoskeletal digital assessment routing tool (DART) mobile health (mHealth) system, which requires evaluation prior to implementation. Such innovations are rarely rigorously tested in clinical trials—considered the gold standard for evaluating safety and efficacy. This pilot study is a precursor to a trial assessing DART performance with a physiotherapist-led triage assessment.

Objective

The study aims to evaluate trial design, assess procedures, and collect exploratory data to establish the feasibility of delivering an adequately powered, definitive randomized trial, assessing DART safety and efficacy in an NHS primary care setting.

Methods

A crossover, noninferiority pilot trial using an integrated knowledge translation approach within a National Health Service England primary care setting. Participants were patients seeking assessment for a musculoskeletal condition, completing a DART assessment and the history-taking element of a face-to-face physiotherapist-led triage in a randomized order. The primary outcome was agreement between DART and physiotherapist triage recommendation. Data allowed analysis of participant recruitment and retention, randomization, blinding, study burden, and potential barriers to intervention delivery. Participant satisfaction was measured using the System Usability Scale.

Results

Over 8 weeks, 129 patients were invited to participate. Of these, 92% (119/129) proceeded to eligibility assessment, with 60% (78/129) meeting the inclusion criteria and being randomized into each intervention arm (39/39). There were no dropouts and data were analyzed for all 78 participants. Agreement between physiotherapist and DART across all participants and all primary triage outcomes was 41% (32/78; 95% CI 22-45), intraclass correlation coefficient 0.37 (95% CI 0.16-0.55), indicating that the reliability of DART was poor to moderate. Feedback from the clinical service team led to an adjusted analysis yielding of 78% (61/78; 95% CI 47-78) and an intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.57 (95% CI 0.40-0.70). Participant satisfaction was measured quantitively using amalgamated System Usability Scale scores (n=78; mean score 84.0; 90% CI +2.94 to –2.94), equating to an “excellent” system. There were no study incidents, and the trial burden was acceptable.

Conclusions

Physiotherapist-DART agreement of 78%, with no adverse triage decisions and high patient satisfaction, was sufficient to conclude DART had the potential to improve the musculoskeletal pathway. Study validity was enhanced by the recruitment of real-world patients and using an integrated knowledge translation approach. Completion of a context-specific consensus process is recommended to provide definitive definitions of safety criteria, range of appropriateness, noninferiority margin, and sample size. This pilot demonstrated an adequately powered definitive trial is feasible, which would provide evidence of DART safety and efficacy, ultimately informing potential for DART implementation.

Trial Registration

ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04904029; http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04904029

International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)

RR2-10.2196/31541