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Review
. 2025 Mar 1;38(2):94-96.
doi: 10.1097/BSD.0000000000001735. Epub 2024 Nov 25.

How to Estimate the Minimal Clinically Important Difference: An Overview

Hernan Roca  1 , Gretchen Maughan, Brian Karamian
Affiliations
Review

How to Estimate the Minimal Clinically Important Difference: An Overview

Hernan Roca et al. Clin Spine Surg. .

Abstract

The minimal clinically important difference (MCID) is a threshold above which a score change would represent a change in symptoms that is noticeable by patients, and it has become a standard approach in the interpretation of clinical relevance of changes in PROMs at a population level. Given the lack of a methodological gold standard, high variability is the main limitation of MCID. Reporting both anchor and distribution-based MCID estimates is a strategy that guarantees both patient-perceived clinical relevance and statistical significance.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

References

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