title: The SF-6D health utility index in carpal tunnel syndrome.
abstract: Cost effectiveness is an important factor to consider when choosing between various hand surgical interventions. Health utility measures can be used to determine cost effectiveness. The SF-6D is a health utility index derived from 11 items of the SF-36 quality of life questionnaire; values range from 0.296 to 1.0 ("perfect" health). We evaluated the validity of the SF-6D in patients with carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) who completed the SF-36 and the CTS symptom severity and functional status questionnaire before and 3 months after carpal tunnel release. Complete responses to the SF-6D items were available for 100 patients at baseline and 95 patients at baseline and follow-up. The mean SF-6D health utility index was 0.69 (SD 0.13) before surgery and 0.77 (SD 0.13) after surgery (moderate effect size). The SF-6D could discriminate between patient groups differing in self-rated global health and in whether, or not, they had a minimal clinically important improvement in CTS symptom severity after surgery. The SF-6D appears to be a valid measure of health utilities in patients with CTS and can be used in cost effectiveness studies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, Hässleholm and Kristianstad Hospitals, Hässleholm, Sweden. Isam.Atroshi@skane.se
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Atroshi
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gummesson
authors.forename: S J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: McCabe
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ornstein
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002349:Carpal Tunnel Syndrome / Q000601:surgery*; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D005260:Female; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D011184:Postoperative Period; D011300:Preoperative Care; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011788:Quality of Life; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires