The Development and validation of a self-administered quality-of-life outcome measure for young, active patients with symptomatic hip disease: the International Hip Outcome Tool (iHOT-33).

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to develop a self-administered evaluative tool to measure health-related quality of life in young, active patients with hip disorders.

METHODS

This outcome measure was developed for active patients (aged 18 to 60 years, Tegner activity level ≥ 4) presenting with a variety of symptomatic hip conditions. This multicenter study recruited patients from international hip arthroscopy and arthroplasty surgeon practices. The outcome was created using a process of item generation (51 patients), item reduction (150 patients), and pretesting (31 patients). The questionnaire was tested for test-retest reliability (123 patients); face, content, and construct validity (51 patients); and responsiveness over a 6-month period in post-arthroscopy patients (27 patients).

RESULTS

Initially, 146 items were identified. This number was reduced to 60 through item reduction, and the items were categorized into 4 domains: (1) symptoms and functional limitations; (2) sports and recreational physical activities; (3) job-related concerns; and (4) social, emotional, and lifestyle concerns. The items were then formatted using a visual analog scale. Test-retest reliability showed Pearson correlations greater than 0.80 for 33 of the 60 questions. The intraclass correlation statistic was 0.78, and the Cronbach α was .99. Face validity and content validity were ensured during development, and construct validity was shown with a correlation of 0.81 to the Non-Arthritic Hip Score. Responsiveness was shown with a paired t test (P ≤ .01), effect size of 2.0, standardized response mean of 1.7, responsiveness ratio of 6.7, and minimal clinically important difference of 6 points.

CONCLUSIONS

We have developed a new quality-of-life patient-reported outcome measure, the 33-item International Hip Outcome Tool (iHOT-33). This questionnaire uses a visual analog scale response format designed for computer self-administration by young, active patients with hip pathology. Its development has followed the most rigorous methodology involving a very large number of patients. The iHOT-33 has been shown to be reliable; shows face, content, and construct validity; and is highly responsive to clinical change. In our opinion the iHOT-33 can be used as a primary outcome measure for prospective patient evaluation and randomized clinical trials.