Do patient-reported outcome measures describe functioning in patients with low back pain, using the brief international Classification of functioning, disability and health core set as a reference?

Objective: To link the items in the Patient-Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs): Roland Morris Disability Questionnaire, Short Form 36 (SF-36) and pain scores, to the Brief International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) Core Set for low back pain, and to examine the extent to which a clinician’s assessment of patients’ problems according to the Brief ICF Core Set correlates with the scores of matching items from the PROMs.

Methods: The PROMs were linked to the Brief ICF Core Set for low back pain. Secondly, a cross-sectional study was conducted including 70 patients with low back pain. The patients completed the PROMs, and the Brief ICF Core Set for low back pain was assessed by a clinician using qualifiers.

Results: The items in the PROMs were successfully linked to the ICF. Twelve of the 38 unique ICF categories derived from the PROMs were covered by the Brief ICF Core Set (34%). A weak correlation was found between the patients’ responses and the clinician’s assessment.

Conclusion: The selected PROMs do not cover the prototypical spectrum of problems encountered in patients with low back pain as defined by the Brief ICF Core Set. The clinical assessment of patients’ problems according to the Brief ICF Core Set does not correlate with the scores of matching items from the PROMs.