Nuts and Bolts of Patient-Reported Outcomes in Orthopaedics.

ABSTRACT

Patient-reported outcomes (PROs) are commonly used in orthopaedic clinical practice, comparative effectiveness research (CER), and label claims. In this paper, we provide an overview of PROs, their development, validation, and use in orthopaedic research with examples and conclude with practical guidelines for researchers and reviewers. We discuss considerations for conceptual framework, validity, reliability, factor analysis, and measurement of change with Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome score (KOOS), as an example. We also describe advantages of instruments developed based on item response theory and statistical analyses for data collected using PRO measures. Please visit the following (https//www.youtube.com/watch?v=4p-DtZgUHOA&t=354s) for a video that explains the highlights of the paper in practical terms.