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Table 3 MDC, MCS and ROC values for neck pain in all patients included in the study (with and without referred pain), and differences depending on baseline pain severity and chronicity

From: Minimum detectable and minimal clinically important changes for pain in patients with nonspecific neck pain

Measurement of change

Value (all 658 patients)

Baseline pain severity (PI-NRS)

Chronicity

  

Lowest tertile* (< 6 points)

Highest tertile* (≥ 8 points)

Subacute (<90 days)

Chronic (≥ 90 days)

Neck pain (PI-NRS)

     

MDC; Value (95% CI)**

4.0 (3.4–5.0)

    

   n

48

14

27

10

38

MCS (SD)

4.1 (2.3)

2.6 (1.4)

4.9 (2.3)

4.1 (2.3)

4.1 (2.2)

   n

395

78

209

167

223

ROC curve

     

   Area (IC 95%)

0.92 (0.87–0.96)

0.94 (0.85–1.00)

0.95 (0.91–0.99)

0.93 (0.80–1.00)

0.91 (0.86–0.96)

   Sensitivity

0.93

0.89

0.96

0.99

0.93

   Specificity

0.83

0.93

0.80

0.90

0.81

   ROC

1.5

1.5

1.5

0.5

1.5

   N

658

164

321

290

361

  1. PI-NRS: Pain intensity numerical rating scale.
  2. MDC: Minimal detectable change. MCS: Mean change score. ROC: Optimal cutoff point on the ROC curve.
  3. *: Lowest and highest tertiles do not represent the same number of patients because of repeated scores for pain severity.
  4. 1.2.1:** The low number of patients denying any change in this sample made it impossible to reliably estimate the potential effect of baseline pain severity and chronicity status on MDC values.
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BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders

ISSN: 1471-2474

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