Introduction: Prospective registries incorporating several validated patient reported outcomes (PROs) have emerged as a feasible way. Most of the PROs are commonly self-administered, and although approved for telephonic interviews, none of the studies have compared the effect of mode of administration on the validity of these PROs. Therefore, we set out to 1) determine the correlation of PRO scores and, 2) compare the validity of the PROs, collected after lumbar spine surgery via telephonic interviews versus self-administration during clinic visit.
Methods: All patients undergoing lumbar surgery were enrolled in our prospective spine registry. Baseline and 3-month PROs on pain, disability and quality of life were collected. 3-month PROs were collected via telephonic interviews as well as via self-administered forms during clinic visit. PROs in these two groups were compared to see if the scores collected via different methods correlate well and whether it affects the validity and responsiveness of these PROs.
Results: A total of 91 patient were included. There was no significant difference in the PRO scores at 3-months(back pain, leg pain, ODI and SF-12 MCS) between the two methods except SF-12 PCS(p=0.04). There was strong correlation between back pain(0.71) and ODI scores(0.80); however leg pain(0.64), SF-12 PCS(0.65) and SF-12 MCS(0.53) had moderate correlations. Health Transition Index(0.47) and patient satisfaction(0.44) had low correlations. The responsiveness of the PROs varied significantly between the two methods and the choice of anchor (HTI vs.satisfaction),Table 1.
Conclusions: Patients reported outcomes in patients undergoing spine surgery collected via telephonic interview vs. self-administration had low to strong correlation. Disease specific PROs(Back Pain and ODI) have stronger correlations than general health and quality of life measures(SF-12 PCS and MCS). The responsiveness of questionnaires also varies with the method of data collection. Large scale studies need to be carried out to determine which method of data collection is more effective.
Patient Care: Our study demonstrates that patient reported outcomes in patients undergoing spine surgery collected via telephonic interview vs. self-administration had low to strong correlation. Disease specific PROs(Back Pain and ODI) have stronger correlations than general health and quality of life measures(SF-12 PCS and MCS). The responsiveness of questionnaires also varies with the method of data collection.
Learning Objectives: At the end of the session, participants should be able to: 1) Determine the most efficient method of data collection in longitudinal spine registries