Selecting Appropriate Patient-Reported Outcome Measures in Orthopaedic Trauma: A Framework With Foot and Ankle Trauma as a Case Example

SUMMARY: Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) have become central to orthopaedic trauma research, quality assessment, and value-based care. However, selecting an appropriate PROM is a nuanced process. Choosing an instrument that lacks validation for a specific injury type may fail to capture clinically relevant domains, systematically misrepresent outcomes in key patient subgroups, introduce bias, obscure treatment effects, and ultimately mislead clinical decision making. This review used foot and ankle trauma as a case example to provide orthopaedic trauma surgeons with a practical, stepwise framework for PROM selection.