Responsiveness of Minimal Clinically Important Change for the Persian Functional Rating Index in Patients With Chronic Low Back Pain Publisher



Ansari NN^{1, 2, 3} ; Komesh S¹ ; Naghdi S^{1, 2, 3} ; Fakhari Z¹ ; Alaei P¹
Source: Asian Spine Journal Published:2019

Abstract

Study Design: A prospective, within-group cohort study of 46 patients with chronic low-back pain (CLBP). Purpose: To assess the responsiveness of the Persian Functional Rating Index (PFRI) and to determine the minimal clinically important change (MCIC) of the PFRI in a cohort of patients with CLBP. Overview of Literature: The FRI is an instrument for assessing pain and disability in patients with low-back pain. No study so far has examined the responsiveness of the PFRI. Methods: Forty-six patients with CLBP with a mean age of 50.33±14.28 completed the PFRI, the Persian Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire (PRMDQ), and a Visual Analog Scale (VAS) before and after 10 physiotherapy sessions. A Global Rating of Change Scale (GRCS) was completed after treatment. Results: The changes in PFRI scores were statistically significant using the paired t-test (p < 0.001). The PFRI revealed high effect sizes (range, 0.93-1.82). The PFRI showed significant correlations with the VAS (0.86), the PRMDQ (0.66), and the GRCS (0.45). The area under the receiver operator characteristic curve for the PFRI was good (0.76; 95% confidence interval, 0.56-0.95). The MCIC for PFRI was 10.63 points. Conclusions: The results supported the responsiveness of the PFRI in patients with CLBP and showed the amount of change in PFRI scores perceived as worthwhile by the patients. © 2019 by Korean Society of Spine Surgery.