Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System Scores Are Responsive to Early Changes in Patient Outcomes Following Arthroscopic Partial Meniscectomy

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) computer-adaptive testing (CAT) physical function and pain interference scores can detect early variations in postoperative outcomes following arthroscopic partial meniscectomy and to determine whether age, sex, body mass index, mechanical symptoms, duration of symptoms, and the severity of chondrosis affect these scores.

Methods: Seventy-five patients who had undergone a partial meniscectomy between September 2015 and March 2016 and had both preoperative and postoperative PROMIS-CAT data for physical function, pain interference, and depression were included. Demographic, clinical, and surgical data including the presence of intraoperative chondral lesions were collected for statistical analysis to assess for factors that led to differences in PROMIS-CAT outcomes.

Results: Preoperatively, patients had decreased physical function and increased pain interference in excess of 1 standard deviation from the general population with mean PROMIS scores of 38.5 and 63.5, respectively. At the 6-week postoperative visit, patients had significant improvements in both physical function and pain interference with mean scores of 43.4 (P < .001, SE = 0.75) and 55.5 (P < .001, SE = 0.83). Female patients had less improvement in PROMIS physical function (P = .03) and depression (P = .02) scores postoperatively compared with male patients. Patients with high-grade articular cartilage lesions had less improvement in physical function (P = .014) and pain interference (P = .010) at 6 weeks postoperative compared with patients with low grade or no chondral lesion.

Conclusions: PROMIS-CAT provides responsive outcome measures to early postoperative changes in physical function and pain following arthroscopic partial meniscectomy and has prognostic value in patient outcomes 6 weeks after procedure.

Level of evidence: Level IV case series.