Sensitivity and responsiveness of Ibadan stroke-specific pain scale

Abstract

Sensitivity and responsiveness to change are important psychometric properties of outcome measures, especially in evaluating therapeutic effectiveness (Dromeric and Redeng, 2003). The consequences of an outcome measure that lacks responsiveness are the same as a diagnostic test that has poor sensitivity or specificity (Scrimshaw and Maher, 2001). The ability of an instrument to be sensitive to within patient change is very important in clinical trials especially in a disease like stroke where the impact is often life-long and multi-dimensional (Poissant et al, 2003).

The purpose of this study therefore was to investigate the responsiveness of the Ibadan Stroke-Specific Pain Scale (IbSSPS) in evaluating post-stroke pain.

Fifty-six patients with first-incidence stroke experiencing post-stroke pain were assessed for pain. Sensitivity to change was assessed by analysing changes in the IbSSPS scores before and after six weeks of physiotherapy with the Wilcoxon-sign rank test. Standardized effect size (SES) and standardized response mean (SRM) were used to assess responsiveness.

The overall IbSSPS and its four domains were sensitive to change after 6 weeks of physiotherapy. It was therefore concluded that the IbSSPS is a sensitive and responsive scale that can be used to evaluate pain in stroke survivors.

Keywords: Post-stroke pain, Stroke-specific Pain Scale, sensitivity, responsiveness