Defining the patient acceptable symptom state for the American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society score following hallux valgus surgery

BackgroundThis study aimed to define the patient acceptable symptom state (PASS) for the American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society score (AOFAS) following hallux valgus surgery.Methods548 patients underwent hallux valgus surgery and had AOFAS assessed preoperatively, 6 months and 2 years postoperatively. Responses to an anchor question were used as external criterion in receiver operating characteristics (ROC) analyses to define PASS thresholds.ResultsIn total, 429 patients (78.3%) reported their current state as acceptable. Areas under the curve (AUC) for ROCs were 0.71?0.81 for all analyses. PASS threshold was 88.5 at 2 years (sensitivity 64%, specificity 85%). Sensitivity analyses revealed that the threshold was robust.ConclusionsPatients with an AOFAS of 88.5 consider their postoperative symptom state to be acceptable. This knowledge will enable clinicians to identify patients who have attained a satisfactory functional status after hallux valgus surgery.