ArticleEuropean spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society2005
Outcome assessment in low back pain: how low can you go?
Article in European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society, 2005. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT03328806 (Cross Culture Adaptation and Validation of the Arabic Version of the Core Outcome Measure Index in Patients With Low Back Pain), which is not on this map. Cited by 140 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Cross Culture Adaptation and Validation of the Arabic Version of the Core Outcome Measure Index in Patients With Low Back Pain
Who cites it
140 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Measuring outcomes in adult spinal deformity surgery: a systematic review to identify current strengths, weaknesses and gaps in patient-reported outcome measures.European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2017Pooled it
- Critical appraisal of methods used in randomized controlled trials of treatments for temporomandibular disorders.Journal of orofacial pain · 2010Pooled it
- Physiotherapy Compared With Shockwave Therapy for the Treatment of Proximal Hamstring Tendinopathy: A Randomized Controlled Trial.The American journal of sports medicine · 2025Trial
- Prognostic ability of the German version of the STarT Back tool: analysis of 12-month follow-up data from a randomized controlled trial.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2019Trial
- Trial
- Association of lumbar spine stiffness and flexion-relaxation phenomenon with patient-reported outcomes in adults with chronic low back pain - a single-arm clinical trial investigating the effects of thrust spinal manipulation.BMC complementary and alternative medicine · 2017Trial
- Trial
- Trial
- Core Outcome Measure Index for low back patients: do we miss anxiety and depression?European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2016Trial
- Trial
- Specific treatment of problems of the spine (STOPS): design of a randomised controlled trial comparing specific physiotherapy versus advice for people with subacute low back disorders.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2011Trial
- A randomised controlled trial of post-operative rehabilitation after surgical decompression of the lumbar spine.European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2007Trial
- Are pain intensity measures interchangeable? agreement among ODI, SRS-22, and COMI in chronic low back pain with and without scoliosis.European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2026Article
- A crosswalk for the conversion of scores between the Neck Disability Index (NDI) and the neck version of the Core Outcome Measures Index (COMI-neck).European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2026Article
- External validity and responsiveness of lumbar spinal stenosis-specific symptom and QOL scales: A multicenter prospective study.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Outcomes of posterior spinal fusion in AIS: A minimally invasive vs. open technique analysis.Brain & spine · 2026Article
- Article
- The Effectiveness of Currently Recommended Questionnaires in Identifying Scoliosis Among Chronic Back Pain Patients: A Cross-Sectional Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Validation of the subjective spine value in patients with adult idiopathic scoliosis.Archives of orthopaedic and trauma surgery · 2025Article
- How reliable are the Core Outcome Measures Index and Global Treatment Outcome as measures of treatment success after surgery for central lumbar spinal canal stenosis?European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2025Article
80 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The present study examined the psychometric characteristics of a "core-set" of six individual questions (on pain, function, symptom-specific well-being, work disability, social disability and satisfaction) for use in low back pain (LBP) outcome assessment. A questionnaire booklet was administered to 277 German-speaking LBP patients with a range of common diagnoses, before and 6 months after surgical (N=187) or conservative (N=90) treatment. The core-set items were embedded in the booklet alongside validated 'reference' questionnaires: Likert scales for back/leg pain; Roland and Morris disability scale; WHO Quality of Life scale; Psychological General Well-Being Index. A further 45 patients with chronic LBP completed the booklet twice in 1-2 weeks. The minimal reliability (similar to Cronbach's alpha) for each core item was 0.42-0.78, increasing to 0.84 for a composite index score comprising all items plus an additional question on general well-being ('quality of life'). Floor or ceiling effects of 20-50% were observed for some items before surgery (function, symptom-specific well-being) and some items after it (disability, function). The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) ("test-retest reliability") was moderate to excellent (ICC, 0.67-0.95) for the individual core items and excellent (ICC, 0.91) for the composite index score. With the exception of "symptom-specific well-being", the correlations between each core item and its corresponding reference questionnaire ("validity") were between 0.61 and 0.79. Both the composite index and the individual items differentiated (P<0.001) between the severity of the back problem in surgical and conservative patients (validity). The composite index score had an effect size (sensitivity to change) of 0.95, which was larger than most of the reference questionnaires (0.47-1.01); for individual core items, the effect sizes were 0.52-0.87. The core items provide a simple, practical, reliable, valid and sensitive assessment of outcome in LBP patients. We recommend the widespread and consistent use of the core-set items and their composite score index to promote standardisation of outcome measurements in clinical trials, multicentre studies, routine quality management and surgical registry systems.
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Identifiers
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.