Comparison of the EQ-5D-3L and EQ-5D-5L instruments in patients undergoing unicompartmental knee arthroplasty.

Purpose: The purpose of this investigation is to assess and contrast the effectiveness of the two EuroQol five dimensions questionnaire (EQ-5D) versions-EQ-5D-3L and EQ-5D-5L-in assessing one-year quality of life outcomes for patients with knee osteoarthritis (KOA) undergoing unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA).
Material and Method: From the medical records at the Honghui Hospital, Xi'an Jiaotong University, 402 individuals aged 50 and above, who were one-year post-operation, were selected to fill out survey questionnaires during their return hospital visits. Of these, 231 respondents (57.5%) completed the questionnaire; 228 completed both versions, and 56 completed the EQ-5D retest questionnaire. The assessment included missing data, ceiling effects, informativity and discriminatory power, as well as response consistency, redistribution properties, and inconsistency. Reliability and validity were also evaluated.
Results: The results indicate that the EQ-5D-5L surpasses the EQ-5D-3L in construct validity, informativity, detection precision, and discriminatory power. Consistency reliability is also better in the EQ-5D-5L than in the EQ-5D-3L. Both instrument versions maintained reliable levels of test-retest reliability.
Conclusion: In patients with KOA undergoing UKA, the EQ-5D-5L has proven superior in measurement capabilities when compared with the EQ-5D-3L one-year post-operation. Thus, it is advised to utilize the EQ-5D-5L for ongoing assessments of quality of life in this specific group of patients.
Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
(Copyright © 2025 Tai, Wan, Zan, Huang and Xu.)