Abstract
Objective To describe the use of patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) in foot and ankle surgery.
Materials and Methods A cross-sectional, descriptive study in which an original survey was developed and applied to assess the use of PROMs in Chile. Traumatologists dedicated to foot and ankle surgery were invited to participate.
Results A total of 73 out of 110 surgeons answered the survey; 75% of them have used PROMs at least once in their career, and 50% use them regularly. Mainly used for clinical research purposes (83%), PROMs are mostly applied by the clinical team (94%). We identified 15 different questionaries that are applied in our field, and the ones most used are the visual analogue scale (VAS), the Ankle-Hindfoot Scale of the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS), the 36-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36), and the Foot and Ankle Outcome Score (FAOS). The surveyed surgeons who do not use PROMs referred lack of information, time, and trained personal as the main limitations for their use.
Conclusion In total, 75% of the surveyed traumatologists dedicated to foot and ankle surgery in Chile have used PROMs in their clinical practice. There is a broad variety of questionaries applied and, to the best of our knowledge, the present is the first study to evaluate their application in our field.
Level of evidence: 4
Keywords
patient reported outcome measures - foot and ankle surgery
