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. 2021 Jun 1;37(6):454-474.
doi: 10.1097/AJP.0000000000000933.

Measurement Properties of the Brief Pain Inventory-Short Form (BPI-SF) and Revised Short McGill Pain Questionnaire Version-2 (SF-MPQ-2) in Pain-related Musculoskeletal Conditions: A Systematic Review

Samuel U Jumbo  1 , Joy C MacDermid  1   2   3 , Michael E Kalu  3 , Tara L Packham  3 , George S Athwal  2 , Kenneth J Faber  2
Affiliations

Measurement Properties of the Brief Pain Inventory-Short Form (BPI-SF) and Revised Short McGill Pain Questionnaire Version-2 (SF-MPQ-2) in Pain-related Musculoskeletal Conditions: A Systematic Review

Samuel U Jumbo et al. Clin J Pain. .

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this study was to systematically locate, critically appraise, and summarize clinical measurement research addressing the use of Brief Pain Inventory-Short Form (BPI-SF) and Revised Short McGill Pain Questionnaire Version-2 (SF-MPQ-2) in pain-related musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions.

Materials and methods: We systematically searched 4 databases (Medline, CINAHL, EMBASE, and SCOPUS) and screened articles to identify those reporting the psychometric properties (eg, validity, reliability) and interpretability (eg, minimal clinically important difference) of BPI-SF and SF-MPQ-2 as evaluated in pain-related MSK conditions. Independently, 2 reviewers extracted data and assessed the quality of evidence with a structured quality appraisal tool and the updated COSMIN guidelines.

Results: In all, 26 articles were included (BPI-SF, n=17; SF-MPQ-2, n=9). Both tools lack reporting on their cross-cultural validities and measurement error indices (eg, standard error of measurement). High-quality studies suggest the tools are internally consistent (α=0.83 to 0.96), and they associate modestly with similar outcomes (r=0.3 to 0.69). Strong evidence suggests the BPI-SF conforms to its 2-dimensional structure in MSK studies; the SF-MPQ-2 4-factor structure was not clearly established. Seven reports of high-to-moderate quality evidence were supportive of the BPI-SF known-group validity (n=2) and responsiveness (n=5). One report of high quality established the SF-MPQ-2 responsiveness.

Discussion: Evidence of high-to-moderate quality supports the internal consistency, criterion-convergent validity, structural validity, and responsiveness of the BPI-SF and SF-MPQ-2 and establishes their use as generic multidimensional pain outcomes in MSK populations. However, more studies of high quality are still needed on their retest reliability, known-group validity, cross-cultural validity, interpretability properties, and measurement error indices in different MSK populations.

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Conflict of interest statement

Supported by the Chronic Pain Network funded by the Canadian Institutes for Health Research (Grant No: CIHR FRN SCA-145102), Ottawa, ON, Canada. S.U.J. was supported by a Western University Graduate Research Scholarship, London, ON, Canada. J.C.M. was supported by a Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Chair in Gender, Work and Health, Ottawa, ON, Canada and the Dr. James Roth Chair in Musculoskeletal Measurement and Knowledge Translation, London, ON, Canada. All the authors declare no conflict of interest.

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