Minimal clinically important difference in maxillofacial trauma patients: a prospective cohort study

Area of Science:

• Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
• Pain Management
• Rehabilitation Medicine

Background:

• Maxillofacial trauma (MFT) significantly impacts patients' quality of life.
• Assessing functional recovery after MFT requires reliable outcome measures.
• Establishing minimal clinically important differences (MCIDs) is crucial for interpreting treatment outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To estimate the MCID for pain using a visual analogue scale-numerical rating scale (VAS-NRS).
• To estimate the MCID for mean bite force (MBF) in patients with MFT.
• To provide clinically relevant benchmarks for functional rehabilitation following MFT treatment.

Main Methods:

• A cohort study of 120 MFT patients treated with AO principles.
• Measurement of preoperative and 4-week postoperative VAS-NRS pain and MBF.
• Utilized change difference (CD) and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve methods for MCID determination.
• Patient perspective assessed via a four-item anchor question.

Main Results:

• MCID for pain: 2.4 (CD method) and 2.5 (ROC method).
• MCID for MBF: 147.9 N (CD method) and 159.1 N (ROC method).
• ROC analysis showed high sensitivity for MCID in both pain and MBF.

Conclusions:

• A pain reduction of 2.4-2.5 points on the VAS-NRS is clinically important for MFT patients.
• A gain of 147.9-159.1 N in MBF signifies meaningful functional recovery.
• These MCID values serve as valuable indicators for evaluating treatment effectiveness in MFT rehabilitation.