The minimal clinically important difference of two multifaceted fatigue evaluation questionnaires in chronic stroke

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Rehabilitation Medicine
• Clinical Measurement

Background:

• Fatigue is a significant challenge for individuals with chronic stroke.
• Accurate interpretation of fatigue assessment tools is crucial for effective patient management.
• The Multidimensional Fatigue Symptom Inventory-Short Form (MFSI-SF) and Chalder Fatigue Questionnaire-11 (CFQ-11) are commonly used to measure fatigue.

Purpose of the Study:

• To establish the Minimal Clinically Important Difference (MCID) for the MFSI-SF and CFQ-11 in a chronic post-stroke population.
• To determine the Robust Clinically Important Difference (RCID) for these fatigue measures.
• To enhance the clinical interpretability of fatigue changes in stroke survivors.

Main Methods:

• A cohort of 128 chronic stroke survivors completed the MFSI-SF and CFQ-11 before and after a six-week intervention.
• MCIDs were calculated using both anchor-based and distribution-based methods.
• RCIDs were estimated exclusively through anchor-based methods.

Main Results:

• Anchor-based MCIDs for MFSI-SF ranged from -5 to -6.28, and for CFQ-11 from -2 to -4.56.
• Distribution-based MCIDs for MFSI-SF were -4.17 to -24.05, and for CFQ-11 were -1.72 to -7.68.
• RCID ranges were -10 to -15 for MFSI-SF and -6 to -7.33 for CFQ-11.

Conclusions:

• The derived MCID and RCID values provide essential benchmarks for interpreting fatigue changes in chronic stroke patients.
• These findings will assist clinicians in understanding the clinical significance of MFSI-SF and CFQ-11 scores.
• Improved interpretation of fatigue assessment can lead to more tailored and effective rehabilitation strategies for stroke survivors.