SynthesisSpine2015
Can we convert between outcome measures of disability for chronic low back pain?
Synthesis in Spine, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Identification of subgroup effect with an individual participant data meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials of three different types of therapist-delivered care in low back pain.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2021Pooled it
- 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
- Article
- The Core Outcome Measures Index (COMI) comes of age: 18 years of efficient and effective patient-reported outcome measurement in the field of spinal disorders. Part 1. Development of the COMI, interpretation of scores, and use in research.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 · 2025Review
- Developing a shortened spine functional index (SFI-10) for patients with sub-acute/chronic spinal disorders: a cross-sectional study.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2024Article
- Systematic Review Procedures for the World Health Organization (WHO) Evidence Syntheses on Benefits and Harms of Structured and Standardized Education/Advice, Structured Exercise Programs, Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS), and Needling Therapies for the Management of Chronic Low Back Pain in Adults.Journal of occupational rehabilitation · 2023Article
- Measurement properties of patient-reported outcome measures used in rehabilitation of adults with chronic musculoskeletal pain: A mapping review.Journal of back and musculoskeletal rehabilitation · 2023Review
- Comparison of the Effectiveness of Pharmacological Treatments for Patients with Chronic Low Back Pain: A Nationwide, Multicenter Study in Japan.Spine surgery and related research · 2021Article
- Outcome measurement in patients with low back pain undergoing epidural steroid injection.Turkish journal of physical medicine and rehabilitation · 2019Article
- App-based multidisciplinary back pain treatment versus combined physiotherapy plus online education: a randomized controlled trial.NPJ digital medicine · 2019Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
Abstract
STUDY
designRetrospective database analysis.
objectiveA range of patient-reported outcomes were used to measure disability due to low back pain. There is not a single back pain disability measurement commonly used in all randomized controlled trials. We report here our assessment as to whether different disability measures are sufficiently comparable to allow data pooling across trials. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: We used individual patient data from a repository of data from back pain trials of therapist-delivered interventions.
methodsWe used data from 11 trials (n=6089 patients) that had at least 2 of the following 7 measurements: Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire, Chronic Pain Grade disability score, Physical Component Summary of the 12- or 36-Item Short Form Health Survey, Patient Specific Functional Scale, Pain Disability Index, Oswestry Disability Index, and Hannover Functional Ability Questionnaire. Within each trial, the change score between baseline and short-term follow-up was computed for each outcome and this was used to calculate the correlation between the change scores and the Cohen's κ for the 3-level outcome of change score of less than, equal to, and more than zero. It was considered feasible to pool 2 measures if they were at least moderately correlated (correlation>0.5) and have at least moderately similar responsiveness (κ>0.4).
resultsAlthough all pairs of measures were found to be positively correlated, most correlations were less than 0.5, with only 1 pair of outcomes in 1 trial having a correlation of more than 0.6. All κ statistics were less than 0.4 so that in no cases were the criteria for acceptability of pooling measures satisfied.
conclusionThe lack of agreement between different outcome measures means that pooling of data on these different disability measurements in a meta-analysis is not recommended. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 2.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.