To assess responsiveness and minimally important change (MIC) for the Manchester-Oxford foot questionnaire (MOXFQ) using anchor and distribution-based approaches. Responsiveness and estimates of minimal clinically important difference (MCID) and minimal detectable change are compared with those from the Short-Form 36 (SF-36) and American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society (AOFAS) measures.
A prospective observational study of 91 consecutive patients (125 foot operations) undergoing hallux valgus surgery at an orthopaedic hospital. Pre- and 12 month post-surgery, patients completed the MOXFQ and SF-36, and foot surgeons assessed all four AOFAS scores corresponding to four regions of the foot. Transition items were asked about perceived changes compared with before surgery.
Mean changes in all domains of each instrument were statistically significant, but foot-specific MOXFQ and AOFAS domains produced much larger effect sizes (>1) than any SF-36 domains, indicating superior responsiveness. Clear associations occurred between transition items and all MOXFQ and AOFAS scores, but with only one (physical function) SF-36 domain. Anchor and distribution-based approaches identified generally comparable measures of MIC, which for the MOXFQ and AOFAS domains were between 1 and 2 standard error of measurement. In metric terms, the MCIDs were 16, 12, and 24 for the MOXFQ Walking/standing, Pain, and Social Interaction domains, respectively.
For hallux valgus surgery, the MOXFQ is highly responsive. Performance is comparable to the AOFAS and notably better than the generic SF-36. Study estimates of MIC for the MOXFQ are useful to inform sample-size calculations for future clinical trials.