Validation of the 10-Item Lower Extremity Functional Scale (LEFS-10) for Individuals With Knee Osteoarthritis.
Daniella Dias de Oliveira, Aron Charles Barbosa da Silva, Jhonata Botelho Protazio and 5 others
PMID 41424168WHAT IT FOUND
The 10-item LEFS matched the full 20-item version and was stable over 7 days in 100 Brazilian Portuguese-speaking adults with knee osteoarthritis.
A change of 3 points or more is considered meaningful.
Key findings
01The LEFS-10 agreed excellently with the LEFS-20, and its correlations with pain, stiffness, physical function, and disability were classified as good.
02Test-retest reliability was excellent, internal consistency was adequate, and no ceiling or floor effects were observed.
03A change of 3 points or more is indicated as meaningful, but the 18.62% minimal detectable change means small changes should be interpreted cautiously.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The sample was recruited from physical therapy clinics and was not random, so it may not represent all people with knee osteoarthritis. 88% of participants were female, 75% were inactive, 82% were receiving physical therapy, and 63% were taking pain medication, so results may not apply to other groups. The study did not test whether the LEFS-10 can detect change after treatment. The study did not compare different evaluators. The 18.62% minimal detectable change means small score changes should be interpreted cautiously.
Declared interests
No funding was reported, and the authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that a small LEFS-10 score change proves a patient improved. The paper states that 3 points or more is indicated as meaningful, and the 18.62% minimal detectable change means small changes should be interpreted cautiously.
Summarised by AI from the full paper, without a clinician reviewing it. Check it against the source before it changes what you do. Read it on PubMed →