The Smallest Worthwhile Effect as an Alternative to MCID for Adult Scoliosis

08/10/2025 17 min

                    The Smallest Worthwhile Effect as an Alternative to MCID for Adult Scoliosis

Listen " The Smallest Worthwhile Effect as an Alternative to MCID for Adult Scoliosis "

Episode Synopsis


In this episode, Mo and Marc discuss a recent JBJS article from Beijing on the use of patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) for patients undergoing surgery for adult idiopathic scoliosis, with a focus on the concept of the smallest worthwhile effect as an alternative to the minimum clinically important difference. 
 
Subspecialties: 

Orthopaedic Essentials 


Spine 

 
Links: 

Liu D, Zhao Z, Li G, Yin X, Zhu Y, Liu Z, Han J, Zhang TJ, Wu N; Deciphering Disorders Involving Scoliosis and Comorbidities Study Group. The Smallest Worthwhile Effect as a Promising Alternative to the MCID in Estimating PROMs for Adult Idiopathic Scoliosis. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2025 Sep 17;107(18):2023-2030. doi: 10.2106/JBJS.24.01269. Epub 2025 Aug 5. PMID: 40763206; PMCID: PMC12430772. https://www.jbjs.org/reader.php?rsuite_id=9baa9c45-a1cf-4d29-999b-bc25be1b1334&source=The_Journal_of_Bone_and_Joint_Surgery/107/18/2023&topics=sp#info 

Chapters
(00:00:03) - Orthojoe Podcast(00:01:47) - SWE estimates and MCID thresholds for adult idiopathic(00:04:12) - The MCID(00:12:14) - The Scientific Editor's Hot Seat

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