Does patient satisfaction with foot surgery change over time?

BackgroundThe national podiatric surgery audit tool PASCOM has a key role in determining patient satisfaction with service received and outcomes. The study aim was to examine the effects of time after surgery on satisfaction scores, by undertaking a retrospective longitudinal study utilising the patient satisfaction questionnaire known as the PSQ-10. A secondary objective was to examine test–retest reliability, since this has not been previously reported.MethodNHS and private patients having undergone forefoot surgery were sent a further PSQ-10 satisfaction questionnaire after the standard 6-month PSQ-10 had been completed. The main outcome measure reflected a change in the score between the original and repeat PSQ-10 response. Internal consistency was measured by correlation between baseline questions for a subset of patients who were sent the second questionnaire within 6 months of the first.ResultsOf a total cohort of 204 patients, no significant differences were seen in overall scores. 46% showed increased satisfaction at the stage of the repeat questionnaire, with 41% a decline in score and 13% no change. Neurectomy patients improved the most with time and digital surgery was associated with the greatest decline in score. Significant correlations were demonstrated between all baseline questions for the test–retest cohort (13 patients).ConclusionTime does not significantly influence patient satisfaction after discharge. There was satisfactory consistency between PSQ-10 responses. Further investigation into digital procedure outcomes is required.