Single item on patients' satisfaction with condition provided additional insight into impact of surgery.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the value of a single item on patients' satisfaction with their condition for assessing outcome in four common surgical procedures. STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING: Four cohorts undergoing surgery for inguinal hernia (715), varicose veins (539), hip (8,383), or knee (10,187) disease. Patients completed questionnaires before and after surgery that included a single item on satisfaction with their health (based on the International Prostate Symptom Score [IPSS] Bother Question), disease-specific measures of symptoms/disability (Oxford Hip and Knee Scores, Aberdeen Varicose Vein Questionnaire), generic measures of symptoms/disability and of quality of life (QoL) (EQ [EuroQoL]-5D index), and single transitional items. Nonparametric Spearman's correlations explored relationships between measures. RESULTS: Before surgery, in all conditions, satisfaction was associated with other dimensions (P<0.05): generic QoL (r=0.5-0.7), disease-specific symptoms/disability (r=0.6-0.8), and generic symptoms/disability (r=0.2-0.4). Significant improvements in satisfaction after surgery correlated strongly with change in disease-specific symptoms/disability (r=0.6 for major operations and r=0.35 for minor surgery) and with single transitional items (r=0.4-0.6) but less so with change in generic QoL (0.3-0.4) and generic symptoms/disability (0.1-0.2). CONCLUSION: Inclusion of a single item on satisfaction provides additional insight into the impact of surgery.