Specificity of the minimal clinically important difference of the quick Disabilities of the Arm Shoulder and Hand (QDASH) for distal upper extremity conditions

•406 participants, three diagnoses were assessed using triangulation methods.•For surgical distal radius fracture the MCID = 25.8, MDC90 = 25.28, and AUC = 0.66.•For non-surgical lateral epicondylitis the MCID = 15.8, MDC90 = 22.49, and AUC = 0.64.•For carpal tunnel release the MCID = 18.7, MDC90 = 27.63, and AUC = 0.66.

Retrospective cohort design. The minimal clinically important difference (MCID) for the quick Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (QDASH) has been established using a pool of multiple conditions, and only exclusively for the shoulder. Understanding diagnoses-specific threshold change values can enhance the clinical decision-making process. Before and after QDASH scores for 406 participants with conditions of surgical distal radius fracture, non-surgical lateral epicondylitis, and surgical carpal tunnel release were obtained. The external anchor administered at each fourth visit was a 15-point global rating of change scale. The test-retest reliability of the QDASH was moderate for all diagnoses: intraclass correlation coefficient model 2, 1, for surgical distal radius = 0.71; non-surgical lateral epicondylitis = 0.69; and surgical carpal tunnel = 0.69. The minimum detectable change at the 90% confidence level was 25.28; 22.49; and 27.63 points respectively; and the MCID values were 25.8; 15.8 and 18.7, respectively. For these three distal upper extremity conditions, a QDASH MCID of 16–26 points could represent the estimate of change in score that is important to the patient and guide clinicians through the decision-making process.