273for patients to complete. Manual calculation of an average score for each subscale is
performed (0–100), with higher scores indicating worse pain, stiffness, or function.
Because there appeared to be some item redundancy in the SACRAH, a modifi ed
version was developed by removing redundant items, leaving 12 items that take
approximately 1–3 min to complete [ 59 , 60 ]. This was followed by a short-form
SACRAH, which consists of fi ve items recalling the previous 48 hours and takes
patients less than 1 min to complete [ 61 ]. Both reduced versions are scored in the
same way as the full SACRAH. English and German versions are available.
The three versions of the SACRAH have the potential to be useful for clinical
evaluation of patients with hand OA. SACRAH covers the same three domains as
AUSCAN with some overlap in items and does not have fees associated with its use.
Therefore, the SACRAH could represent an ideal alternative to the AUSCAN, espe-
cially considering the three different formats. However, it is diffi cult to access a
complete version of the SACRAH. Although all included items are listed in the
development papers, clinicians may have issues locating full versions that include
instructions for patients, such as the recall period.
Importantly, there is minimal information available regarding the measurement
properties of the full, modifi ed, and short-form SACRAH in people with hand
OA. Clinicians should be aware that the short-form SACRAH pain and stiffness
subscales only contain one item each. While this minimizes completion time, it is
also likely to substantially infl uence the reliability of these subscales for use in indi-
vidual patients. Therefore, until further evidence regarding the measurement prop-
erties of SACRAH is available, we do not recommend any of the three versions for
use in patients with hand OA at this time.
Patient-Reported Outcome Measures for Osteoarthritis
in Other Joints
As for the knee, hip, and hand, there are some PROMs that have been developed
specifi cally to evaluate patients with OA in other joints. However, their measure-
ment properties are less well established.
We encourage the reader to consider generic PROMs that can be used to evaluate
pain and function in patients with OA. Visual analogue scales or numeric rating
scales are widely used in clinical practice and provide a simple method of capturing
a patient’s pain severity. They have established measurement properties across vari-
ous health conditions, including musculoskeletal pain [ 33 ]. The Patient-Specifi c
Functional Scale is a quick and easy measure of function for clinical use [ 62 ].
Importantly, content validity is ensured as the patients nominate their own problem-
atic activities, which are tracked over time.
Other region-specifi c PROMs that may be considered for use in patients with OA
are listed below. However, it is important to determine whether their measurement
10 PROMs for Osteoarthritis