Performance of PROMIS Instruments in Patients With Shoulder Instability

Background: Shoulder instability is a relatively common condition occurring in 2% of the population. PROMIS (Patient-Reported Outcome Measurement Information System) was developed by the National Institutes of Health in an effort to advance patient-reported outcome (PRO) instruments by developing question banks for major health domains. Purpose: To compare PROMIS instruments to current PRO instruments in patients who would be undergoing operative intervention for recurrent shoulder instability. Study Design: Cohort study (diagnosis); Level of evidence, 2. Methods: A total of 74 patients with a primary diagnosis of shoulder instability who would be undergoing surgery were asked to fill out the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons shoulder assessment form (ASES), Marx shoulder activity scale (Marx), Short Form-36 Health Survey Physical Function subscale (SF-36 PF), Western Ontario Shoulder Instability Index (WOSI), PROMIS physical function computer adaptive test (PF CAT), and PROMIS upper extremity item bank (UE). Correlation between PRO instruments was defined as excellent (>0.7), excellent-good (0.61-0.7), good (0.4-0.6), and poor (0.2-0.3). Results: Utilization of the PROMIS UE demonstrated excellent correlation with the SF-36 PF (r = 0.78, P < .01) and ASES (r = 0.71, P < .01); there was excellent-good correlation with the EQ-5D (r = 0.66, P < .01), WOSI (r = 0.63, P < .01), and PROMIS PF CAT (r = 0.63, P < .01). Utilization of the PROMIS PF CAT demonstrated excellent correlation with the SF-36 PF (r = 0.72, P < .01); there was excellent-good correlation with the ASES (r = 0.67, P < .01) and PROMIS UE (r = 0.63, P < .01). When utilizing the PROMIS UE, ceiling effects were present in 28.6% of patients aged 18 to 21 years. Patients, on average, answered 4.6 1.8 questions utilizing the PROMIS PF CAT. Conclusion: The PROMIS UE and PROMIS PF CAT demonstrated good to excellent correlation with common shoulder and upper extremity PRO instruments as well as the SF-36 PF in patients with shoulder instability. In patients aged 21 years, there were significant ceiling effects utilizing the PROMIS UE. While the PROMIS PF CAT appears appropriate for use in adults of any age, our findings demonstrate that the PROMIS UE has significant ceiling effects in patients with shoulder instability who are 21 years old, and we do not recommend use of the PROMIS UE in this population.