Responsiveness and Minimal Clinically Important Differences after Cholecystectomy: GIQLI Versus SF-36

• DOI: 10.1007/s11605-008-0526-7
• Publication Date: 2008-05-05T00:05:25Z
• Authors: Hon-Yi Shi; Hao-Hsien Lee; Chong-Chi Chiu; Herng-Chia Chiu; Yih-Huei Uen; King-Teh Lee
• Keywords: Adult; Aged, 80 and over; Male; Taiwan; Middle Aged; 3. Good health; 03 medical and health sciences; Treatment Outcome; 0302 clinical medicine; Patient Satisfaction; Surveys and Questionnaires; Quality of Life; Health Status Indicators; Humans; Cholecystectomy; Female; Postoperative Period; Aged; Follow-Up Studies

To compare responsiveness and minimal clinically important differences (MCID) between the Gastrointestinal Quality of Life (GIQLI) and the Short Form 36 (SF-36), we prospectively analyze 159 patients undergoing cholecystectomy at two tertiary academic hospitals.All patients completed the disease-specific GIQLI and the generic SF-36 before and 3 months after surgery. Scores using these instruments were interpreted by generalized estimating equation before and after cholecystectomy. The bootstrap estimation was used to derive 95% confidence intervals for differences in the responsiveness estimates.Mean changes in all GIQLI and the SF-36 subscales were statistically significant (p < 0.05). Comparisons of effect size (ES), standardized response means (SRM), and relative efficiency (>1) indicated that the responsiveness of the GIQLI was superior to that of the SF-36. In the equivalence test, all lower or upper confidence limits presented no equivalence (>5), indicating good MCID. The ES and SRM for emotions and physical function in the GIQLI significantly differed from those of the SF-36 (p < 0.05).The data in this study indicate that clinicians and health researchers should weight disease-specific measures more heavily than generic measures when evaluating treatment outcomes.