A Short-Form Functional Capacity Evaluation Predicts Time to Recovery but Not Sustained Return-to-Work

• Published in: Journal of occupational rehabilitation Vol. 20; no. 3; pp. 387 - 393
• Main Authors: Branton, Erin N., Arnold, Kelly M., Appelt, Sheena R., Hodges, Megan M., Battié, Michele C., Gross, Douglas P.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Boston Springer US 01.09.2010; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adult; Alberta; Analysis; Clinical Psychology; Cohort analysis; Disabled Persons - rehabilitation; Environmental Health; Health Psychology; Humans; Injuries; Interviews as Topic; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Middle Aged; Musculoskeletal Diseases - diagnosis; Musculoskeletal Diseases - economics; Musculoskeletal Diseases - physiopathology; Musculoskeletal Diseases - rehabilitation; Occupational accidents; Occupational Medicine/Industrial Medicine; Orthopedics; Pain; Pain Measurement; Predictive Value of Tests; Prognosis; Proportional Hazards Models; Prospective Studies; Recovery of Function; Recurrence; Rehabilitation; Reproducibility of Results; Return to work programs; Risk factors; Sick Leave - economics; Studies; Therapists; Time Factors; Validity; Wages & salaries; Work Capacity Evaluation; Work-related injuries; Workers compensation; Workers' Compensation - statistics & numerical data; Alberta; Canada; Functional capacity evaluation; Recurrence; Time to recovery; Predictive validity; Compensation; Return to work
• ISSN: 1053-0487; 1573-3688; 1573-3688
• DOI: 10.1007/s10926-010-9233-9

Objectives To evaluate the ability of a short-form FCE to predict future timely and sustained return-to-work. Methods A prospective cohort study was conducted using data collected during a cluster RCT. Subject performance on the items in the short-form FCE was compared to administrative recovery outcomes from a workers’ compensation database. Outcomes included days to claim closure, days to time loss benefit suspension and future recurrence (defined as re-opening a closed claim, restarting benefits, or filing a new claim for injury to the same body region). Analysis included multivariable Cox and logistic regression using a risk factor modeling strategy. Potential confounders included age, sex, injury duration, and job attachment status, among others. Results The sample included 147 compensation claimants with a variety of musculoskeletal injuries. Subjects who demonstrated job demand levels on all FCE items were more likely to have their claims closed (adjusted Hazard Ratio 5.52 (95% Confidence Interval 3.42–8.89), and benefits suspended (adjusted Hazard Ratio 5.45 (95% Confidence Interval 2.73–10.85) over the follow-up year. The proportion of variance explained by the FCE ranged from 18 to 27%. FCE performance was not significantly associated with future recurrence. Conclusion A short-form FCE appears to provide useful information for predicting time to recovery as measured through administrative outcomes, but not injury recurrence. The short-form FCE may be an efficient option for clinicians using FCE in the management of injured workers.