incorporating patients' personal experiences may provide a more meaningful interpretation of the treatment outcomes.At this point, the assessments defined as clinically meaningful outcomes, namely the Minimal Clinically Important Difference (MCID), Substantial Clinical Benefit (SCB), and Patient Acceptable Symptom State (PASS), have gained increasing prominence. 4The MCID refers to the minimal change in an outcome that a patient considers significant, while the PASS describes the level of symptoms that a patient deems acceptable and SCB represents the minimum change for a patient to feel their condition is highly satisfactory.These assessments are based on analyses of PROMs to establish threshold values and identify patients who reach these values. 5Although the methodological approach may seem detailed, the basic principle is quite simple: asking patients about their current condition.For MCID and SCB, patients are asked about changes in their pain or functional status after surgery.For the PASS, patients are asked whether they are satisfied with their current conditions.More intriguingly, rather than relying solely on threshold values reported in the literature, researchers should establish these values within their own cohorts using anchor questions. 6,7This is because each patient population has distinct characteristics.Furthermore, as the MCID reflects a relatively low level of improvement, SCB and PASS must also be evaluated to provide a comprehensive assessment of clinical success.In cohorts with high preoperative PROMs, the assessment of Maximal Outcome Improvement (MOI) may be incorporated to further strengthen the reliability of the findings. 8
Oklaz et al. (Thu,) studied this question.