4 Choosing the right outcome measurement instruments for patients with low back pain Alessandro Chiarotto a, b, * , Caroline B. Terwee b , Raymond W. Ostelo a, b a Department of Health Sciences, Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, The Netherlands b Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands Keywords: Outcome measurement instruments Low back pain Physical functioning Pain intensity Health-related quality of life Work Psychological functioning Pain interference abstract Choosing the most fit-for-purpose outcome measurement in- struments is fundamental because using inappropriate in- struments can lead to detection bias and measurement inconsistency. Recent recommendations, consensus procedures and systematic reviews on existing patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) informed this manuscript, which provides suggestions on which outcome domains and measurement in- struments to use in patients with low back pain (LBP). Six domains are identified as highly relevant: (1) physical functioning, (2) pain intensity, (3) health-related quality of life, (4) work, (5) psycho- logical functioning and (6) pain interference. For each domain, one or more PROMs are suggested for clinical research and practice, selecting among those that are most frequently used and recom- mended, and that have satisfactory measurement properties in patients with LBP. Further research on the measurement proper- ties of these suggested PROMs is needed while also considering other emerging instruments, such as the PROMIS computerised adaptive testing and short forms. © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. * Corresponding author. Department of Health Sciences, Amsterdam Public Health research institute, Vrije Universiteit, de Boelelaan 1085, room U-601, 1081HV, Amsterdam, Netherlands. E-mail address: a.chiarotto@vu.nl (A. Chiarotto). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Best Practice & Research Clinical Rheumatology journal homepage: www.elsevierhealth.com/berh http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.berh.2017.07.001 1521-6942/© 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Best Practice & Research Clinical Rheumatology xxx (2017) 1e18 Please cite this article in press as: Chiarotto A, et al., Choosing the right outcome measurement in- struments for patients with low back pain, Best Practice & Research Clinical Rheumatology (2017), http:// dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.berh.2017.07.001