The minor oral surgery outcome scale: a multi-attribute patient-derived outcome measure.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this study was to produce a clinically useful, patient-derived, minor oral surgery outcome scale.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Seventy-seven consecutive patients scheduled for minor oral surgery were interviewed using semistructured interview techniques to identify those areas of life (domains) that patients believed will be affected by minor oral surgery. These interviews were analyzed by a multidisciplinary panel and a scale based on 5 domains, each with 4 outcome statements was constructed. The domains and outcome statements were weighted in terms of importance by a further consecutive sample of 100 patients using resource allocation and visual analog tasks. An additive mathematical formula was applied to the mean weights for each domain and outcome states to produce the final weighted scale.

RESULTS

Five domains were identified from the interviews and weighted according to their order of importance (0 to 100 scale; 0 = least important). These were general health and well-being (24.6); impact on home/social life (20.8); health and comfort of the mouth, teeth, and gums (20.0); appearance (18.8); and impact on job/studies (15.8).

CONCLUSION

A clinically applicable, multi-attribute outcome scale has been produced that takes into account all determinants of health outcome as perceived by the patient in the context of minor oral surgery. It is completed by selecting a weighted statement from each domain, the sum of which constitutes the patient's health state utility score. The scale has potentially extensive application to both clinical care and research.