Should the EuroQol-Five Dimensions Replace the Oswestry Disability Index When Tracking Lumbar Tubular...

Patient-reported outcomes measures (PROMs) are critical in evaluating the effectiveness of surgical spine interventions. The Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) is commonly used but tedious to administer routinely. The EuroQol-5 Dimensions (EQ-5D) questionnaire is easier to administer but not traditionally used to measure spine surgical results. This study aimed to investigate the correlation of commonly administered PROMs in lumbar tubular microdecompression patients, and to consider whether ODI could be predicted from remaining PROMs.

This study examined 304 index lumbar tubular microdecompression patients with PROMs collected at routine intervals. Spearman correlation coefficients were calculated for each pairwise combination of the following PROMs: ODI, EQ-5D index, leg pain visual analog scale (VAS), low back pain VAS, health state item. Linear regression modeling was conducted to predict ODI from the remaining four PROMs.

The patients had a mean age of 65.55 ± 12.97 years and 46.4% were male. Each combination of PROMs demonstrated a statistically significant pairwise correlation (P < 0.001). ODI showed strong correlation with EQ-5D index (r = -0.77), leg pain VAS (r = 0.73), and back pain VAS (r = 0.65), but weak correlation with health state item (r = -0.33). Forwards stepwise model selection yielded a multiple linear regression model including all four PROMs predictors, with an adjusted R2 of 0.690. There was strong correlation between predicted and observed ODI (r = 0.83, P < 0.001).

ODI can be predicted from EQ-5D, leg and low back pain VAS, and health state items with moderate accuracy. The added utility of capturing ODI routinely may not out-weigh the challenges in doing so.