Responsiveness and minimal clinically important differences after cholecystectomy: GIQLI versus SF-36.
BACKGROUND
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.


METHODS
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.


CONCLUSIONS
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).


CONCLUSIONS
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.
Shi
Hon-Yi
HY
Graduate Institute of Healthcare Administration, Kaohsiung Medical University, 100-Shih-Chun 1st Road, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
Lee
Hao-Hsien
HH
Chiu
Chong-Chi
CC
Chiu
Herng-Chia
HC
Uen
Yih-Huei
YH
Lee
King-Teh
KT
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002763:Cholecystectomy / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011184:Postoperative Period; D011788:Quality of Life; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013624:Taiwan; D016896:Treatment Outcome