Identifying Correlation Among Patient-Reported Outcome Measures: A Study of PROMIS-29, ODI, and VAS in Adult Spinal Deformity Patients

BACKGROUND: Adult spinal deformity (ASD) is becoming increasingly common in aging populations. reported patient surveys administered pre- and postoperatively that provide insight into patient improvement. We aim to compare 3 of the most utilized PROMs: PROMISand independent assessments of patient outcomes when assessed longitudinally. - METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed a database of 2021. Adult patients (>18 years old) were included if they underwent long-segment (>4 levels) thoracolumbar fusion. PROMIS-29, ODI, and VAS scores were collected preoperatively and at 3-, 6-, 12-, 18-, 24-, 30-, and 36-month followups. Scores were recorded +/- 1 month of the time points. Pearson correlation coefficients for each PROM were then calculated in a pairwise fashion. - RESULTS: A total of 163 patients were included in our analysis. ODI and VAS showed significant covariance, with 0.95 and 0.94, respectively. ODI and PROMIS-29 also showed significant covariance, with Physical Function and ODI showing a Pearson coefficient of 0.95. PROMIS-29 and VAS demonstrated less correlation regarding Pain and Physical Function; however, they showed a significantly high Pearson coefficient when comparing VAS Back with PROMIS-29 Sleep and Pain Intensity (r = 0.97 and r = 0.96, respectively). - CONCLUSIONS: All 3 PROMs demonstrated significant correlation over 36 months, indicating that simultaneous administration of each during follow-up is redundant. The measure that provided the least unique information was ODI, as both VAS and PROMIS-29 demonstrated similar progression and assessed additional metrics. PROMIS-29 provided the same information as VAS and ODI, with extra facets of patient-reported outcomes, indicating that it may be a more comprehensive measure of longitudinal patient improvement.