From numbers to meaningful change: Minimal important change by using PROMIS in a cohort of fracture patients

Thymen Houwen, Hilco P. Theeuwes, Michael H. J. Verhofstad, Mariska A. C. de Jongh

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

Abstract

Introduction: use of the Patient-Reported Outcomes measurement Information System (PROMIS (R)) is slowly increasing in patients with a fracture. Yet, minimal important change of PROMIS in patients with fractures has been addressed in a very limited number of studies. As the minimal important change (MIC) is important to interpret PROMIS-scores, the goal is to estimate the MIC for PROMIS physical function (PF), PROMIS pain interference (PI) and PROMIS ability to participate in social roles and activities (APSRA) in patients with a fracture. Secondly, the smallest detectable change was determined.Materials and methods: A longitudinal cohort study on patients >= 18 years receiving surgical or non-surgical care for fractures was conducted. Patients completed PROMIS PF V1.1, PROMIS PI V1.1 and PROMIS APSRA V2.0. For follow-up, patients completed three additional anchor questions evaluating patient-reported improvement on a seven point rating scale. The predictive modeling method was used to estimate the MIC value of all three PROMIS questionnaires.Results: Hundred patients with a mean age of 55.4 +/- 12.6 years were included of which sixty (60%) were female. Seventy-two (72%) patients were recovering from a surgical procedure. PROMIS-CAT T-scores of all PROMIS measures showed significant correlations with their anchor questions. The predictive modeling method showed a MIC value of +2.4 (n = 98) for PROMIS PF, -2.9 (n = 96) for PROMIS PI and +3.2 (n = 91) for PROMIS APSRA.Conclusion: By using the anchor based predictive modeling method, PROMIS MIC-values for improvement of respectively +2.4 points on a T-score metric for PROMIS-PF, -2.9 for PROMIS-PI and +3.2 for PROMIS APSRA give the impression of being meaningful to patients. These values can be used in clinical practice for managing patient expectations; to inform on treatment results; and to assess if patients experience significant change. This in order to encourage patient centered care.
Original languageEnglish
Article number110882
Number of pages5
JournalInjury
Volume54
Early online dateNov 2023
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Nov 2023

Keywords

  • Minimal important change
  • Promis
  • Patient-reported outcomes
  • Trauma

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