Reliability in Measuring Preinjury Physical Function in Orthopaedic Trauma.
Ami R Stuart1, Thomas F Higgins, Man Hung
1*Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT; and †Department of Biomedical Informatics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT.
Journal of Orthopaedic Trauma
|July 21, 2015
Summary
Orthopaedic trauma patients can reliably report their preinjury physical function using the PROMIS physical function computer adaptive test (PF CAT). Patient self-assessments show strong agreement with proxy reports, validating their use in early recovery assessments.
Area of Science:
- Orthopaedic Trauma
- Rehabilitation Medicine
- Patient-Reported Outcomes
Background:
- Assessing functional recovery in orthopaedic trauma is challenging due to the lack of pre-injury baseline data.
- Reliable pre-injury physical function data is crucial for evaluating patient recovery and treatment effectiveness.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the agreement between patient self-assessment and proxy assessment of pre-injury physical function in orthopaedic trauma patients.
- To determine the reliability of patient-reported pre-injury physical function using the PROMIS PF CAT.
Main Methods:
- Orthopaedic trauma patients and their proxies independently completed the PROMIS physical function computer adaptive test (PF CAT) retrospectively for pre-injury function.
- Analysis included intraclass correlation, paired sample t tests, and confidence intervals to assess patient-proxy agreement.
Main Results:
- Fifty patient-proxy pairs participated, with high agreement (intraclass correlation = 0.79).
- Patient PF CAT scores were not significantly different from proxy scores (P = 0.311), indicating no notable bias.
- Mean patient score was 57.92 (SD=10.38) and mean proxy score was 56.59 (SD=11.50).
Conclusions:
- Patient self-reporting of pre-injury physical function using the PROMIS PF CAT is reliable in the early post-injury period.
- This finding supports the use of patient-reported outcomes for assessing functional recovery in orthopaedic trauma.
