STUDY DESIGN: A prospective test-retest study was conducted to investigate both new and follow-up patients with low back pain presenting to an orthopedic surgeon specializing in back pain. OBJECTIVES: To further validate the internal consistency and test-retest reliability of the Low Back Outcome Score, and to compare these results with other condition-specific disability scales. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: To be useful in clinical practice, health-specific questionnaires must demonstrate reliability and validity. Several disease-specific questionnaires for low back pain have been validated to different extents. METHODS: In this study, 102 new and 42 follow-up patients consecutively attending a consultant clinic completed the Low Back Outcome Score on their visit, then again after an interval of 1 week in postal form. This instrument also was completed by 230 patients presenting to a physiotherapist. RESULTS: A response rate of 90% was achieved for the postal questionnaire. A test of internal consistency conducted with the study sample achieved a Cronbach alpha coefficient of 0.85. Overall agreement for test-retest reliability was 84%, and the reliability coefficient (K) reached a range of 0.51 to 0.86 (P < 0.05). A Bland/Altman plot was calculated, demonstrating that only 5% of patient scores change by more than 11.6 scale points between test and retest, which is not sufficient to change outcome categories. CONCLUSION: The Low Back Outcome Score appears to have good internal consistency and test-retest reliability for use in clinical practice.
STUDY DESIGN: A prospective test-retest study was conducted to investigate both new and follow-up patients with low back pain presenting to an orthopedic surgeon specializing in back pain. OBJECTIVES: To further validate the internal consistency and test-retest reliability of the Low Back Outcome Score, and to compare these results with other condition-specific disability scales. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: To be useful in clinical practice, health-specific questionnaires must demonstrate reliability and validity. Several disease-specific questionnaires for low back pain have been validated to different extents. METHODS: In this study, 102 new and 42 follow-up patients consecutively attending a consultant clinic completed the Low Back Outcome Score on their visit, then again after an interval of 1 week in postal form. This instrument also was completed by 230 patients presenting to a physiotherapist. RESULTS: A response rate of 90% was achieved for the postal questionnaire. A test of internal consistency conducted with the study sample achieved a Cronbach alpha coefficient of 0.85. Overall agreement for test-retest reliability was 84%, and the reliability coefficient (K) reached a range of 0.51 to 0.86 (P < 0.05). A Bland/Altman plot was calculated, demonstrating that only 5% of patient scores change by more than 11.6 scale points between test and retest, which is not sufficient to change outcome categories. CONCLUSION: The Low Back Outcome Score appears to have good internal consistency and test-retest reliability for use in clinical practice.
Authors: Heiko Koller; Frank Acosta; Axel Hempfing; David Rohrmüller; Mark Tauber; Stefan Lederer; Herbert Resch; Juliane Zenner; Helmut Klampfer; Robert Schwaiger; Robert Bogner; Wolfgang Hitzl Journal: Eur Spine J Date: 2008-06-25 Impact factor: 3.134