Reliability, Measurement Error, Responsiveness, and Minimal Important Change of the Patient-Specific Functional Scale 2.0 for Patients With Nonspecific Neck Pain

Abstract

Objective The Patient-Specific Functional Scale (PSFS) is a patient-reported outcome measure used to assess functional limitations. Recently, the PSFS 2.0 was proposed; this instrument includes an inverse numeric rating scale and an additional list of activities that patients can choose. The aim of this study was to assess the test–retest reliability, measurement error, responsiveness, and minimal important change of the PSFS 2.0 when used by patients with nonspecific neck pain. Methods Patients with nonspecific neck pain completed a numeric rating scale, the PSFS 2.0, and the Neck Disability Index at baseline and again after 12 weeks. The Global Perceived Effect (GPE) was also collected at 12 weeks and used as an anchor. Test–retest measurement was assessed by completion of a second PSFS 2.0 after 1 week. Measurement error was calculated using a Bland–Altman plot. The receiver operating characteristic method with the anchor (GPE) functions as the reference standard was used for calculating the minimal important change. Results One hundred patients were included, with 5 lost at follow-up. No floor and ceiling effects were reported. In the test–retest analysis, the mean difference was 0.15 (4.70 at first test and 4.50 at second test). The ICC (mixed models) was 0.95, indicating high agreement (95% CI = 0.92–0.97). For measurement error, the upper and lower limits of agreement were 0.95 and − 1.25 points, respectively, with a smallest detectable change of 1.10. The minimal important change was determined to be 2.67 points. The PSFS 2.0 showed satisfactory responsiveness, with an area under the curve of 0.82 (95% CI = 0.70–0.93). There were substantial to high correlations between the change scores of the PSFS 2.0 and the Neck Disability Index and GPE (0.60 and 0.52, respectively; P < .001). Conclusions The PSFS 2.0 is a reliable and responsive patient-reported outcome measure for use by patients with neck pain.