Concurrent validity of the single assessment numerical evaluation and patient-reported functional measures in patients with musculoskeletal disorders: An observational study.

INTRODUCTION: As patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) continue to evolve as vital measures of patient status, it may be useful to identify efficiently, Single Assessment Numeric Evaluation (SANE) scores that are valid and related to the patient's specific functional needs. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the concurrent validity between SANE scores and commonly used body region-specific functional PROMs, functional percentage change scores, and total visits in patients with musculoskeletal (MSK) disorders. METHODS: 479 patients completed the SANE and one of the following PROMs at physical therapy discharge: Modified Low Back Pain Disability Questionnaire [MDQ], Neck Disability Index [NDI], Penn Shoulder Score [PSS], International Knee Documentation Committee [IKDC], Lower Extremity Functional Scale [LEFS]. Pearson correlation coefficients were used to assess the relationship between SANE and the aforementioned outcomes and total visits. RESULTS: The SANE was moderately negatively correlated with the MDQ and NDI at discharge. There were high positive correlations between SANE and PSS and IKDC and moderate positive correlation between SANE and LEFS. The SANE and MDQ and IKDQ demonstrated low positive correlation for functional percentage change scores, and the SANE and NDI demonstrated moderate positive correlation for functional percentage change scores. For total visits outcome, there was a negligible negative correlation between SANE and MDQ and NDI at discharge. CONCLUSION: The SANE exhibits acceptable concurrent validity across all investigated PROMs at physical therapy discharge. However, inconsistent relationships across body regions for functional percentage change and total visits suggest differences in these values as compared to raw discharge scores.

Duke Scholars

Author Chad E. Cook Orthopaedic Surgery, Physical Therapy

Author Charles Alden Thigpen Orthopaedic Surgery, Physical Therapy