PROMIS Milestones in Patients Undergoing Rotator Cuff Repair (233)
Authors: MBA Eric Makhni , Yedulla Nikhil , Bernstein David , Elhage Kareem , Moutzouros Vasilios 
Published: October 2021

Objectives:

Patient Reported Outcome Measurement Information System (PROMIS) has emerged as an effective tool in assessing post-operative outcomes in rotator cuff repair. PROMIS employs computer adaptive testing (CAT) in order to select specific items from a standard question bank based on previous patient responses. In turn, domain-specific PROMIS forms allow optimal tracking of outcomes in specific areas of patient recovery, such as upper extremity function (PROMIS-UE) for rotator cuff repair patients. The objective of this investigation is to analyze the PROMIS-UE CAT question bank to determine the point in recovery at which a patient is able to reach certain milestones and to elucidate the number of days – in increments of 30 (i.e., monthly) – it takes for patients who undergo rotator cuff repair to answer “with some difficulty” or “without any difficulty” for the five most frequently asked questions in the PROMIS-UE CAT questionnaire. Understanding these timepoints will improve clinical monitoring and counseling following surgery and provide standardized measures for appropriate activity progression and restriction.

Methods:

All patients who underwent rotator cuff repair by one of two sports medicine fellowship-trained orthopedic surgeons between 2/16/17 and 7/13/19 were included in this study. Post-operative PROMIS-UE CAT scores were reviewed with respect to individual item, response, and timing of response (with respect to number of days following surgery using 30-day increments). For each PROMIS-UE CAT item, the following five answer choices were available: “Without any difficulty”, “With a little difficulty”, “With some difficulty”, “With much difficulty”, and “Unable to do”. A task was considered achievable if the patient answered any answer with “Without any difficulty” or “With a little difficulty”. The percentage of patients in each 30-day group who answered with either of these responses was recorded. Chi-square tests were run between the number of days postoperatively the surveys were administered and patient responses to determine whether or not there were statistically significant differences between groups.

Results:

A total of 1,143 patient responses were included in the final analysis. The five most frequently asked questions in the PROMIS-UE CAT item bank, which were as follows: “Are you able to carry a heavy object (over 10 pounds /5 kg)?” (n=1143), “Are you able to put on and take off a coat or jacket?” (n=932), “Are you able to carry a shopping bag or briefcase?” (n=453), “Are you able to pour liquid from a bottle into a glass?” (n=675), and “Are you able to put on a shirt or blouse?” (n=578). The times at which greater than 50% of respondents answered either “Without any difficulty” or “With a little difficulty” are shown in Table 1. All five questions showed statistically significant associations between number of days postoperatively and patient responses (p<.0005).

Conclusions:

On average, patients undergoing rotator cuff repair achieved milestones measured by the five most commonly asked questions on the PROMIS-UE CAT by 1-4 months postoperatively. Patients also showed significant improvements in upper extremity function in the same time period. These findings can be utilized in post-operative monitoring, and patients who do not meet these milestones in the appropriate timepoints may require additional supportive care or treatment.