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World J Methodol. Mar 20, 2025; 15(1): 97814
Published online Mar 20, 2025. doi: 10.5662/wjm.v15.i1.97814
Beyond statistical significance: Embracing minimal clinically important difference for better patient care
Naveen Jeyaraman, Madhan Jeyaraman, Swaminathan Ramasubramanian, Sangeetha Balaji, Sathish Muthu
Naveen Jeyaraman, Madhan Jeyaraman, Department of Orthopaedics, ACS Medical College and Hospital, Dr MGR Educational and Research Institute, Chennai 600077, Tamil Nadu, India
Naveen Jeyaraman, Madhan Jeyaraman, Sathish Muthu, Department of Research Methods, Orthopaedic Research Group, Coimbatore 641045, Tamil Nadu, India
Swaminathan Ramasubramanian, Sangeetha Balaji, Department of Orthopaedics, Government Medical College, Omandurar Government Estate, Chennai 600002, Tamil Nadu, India
Sathish Muthu, Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Engineering, Karpagam Academy of Higher Education, Coimbatore 641021, Tamil Nadu, India
Sathish Muthu, Department of Orthopaedics, Government Medical College, Karur 639004, Tamil Nadu, India
Author contributions: Jeyaraman M conceptualized the manuscript; Jeyaraman N, Ramasubramanian S, and Balaji S performed data analysis and wrote the manuscript; Muthu S performed image analysis. All authors have read and approved the final version of the manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors declare no conflict of interest in publishing this manuscript.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Madhan Jeyaraman, MS, PhD, Assistant Professor, Research Associate, Department of Orthopaedics, ACS Medical College and Hospital, Dr MGR Educational and Research Institute, Velappanchavadi, Chennai 600077, Tamil Nadu, India. madhanjeyaraman@gmail.com
Received: June 9, 2024
Revised: September 9, 2024
Accepted: September 13, 2024
Published online: March 20, 2025
Processing time: 111 Days and 18.4 Hours
Core Tip

Core Tip: The minimal clinically important difference (MCID) is crucial for assessing the real-world impact of medical treatments from a patient’s viewpoint. It ensures clinical outcomes are both statistically significant and beneficial in practice. Future directions involve standardizing MCID methods, increasing patient participation in setting thresholds, and broadening research for global applicability, enhancing MCID’s role in delivering meaningful, patient-valued healthcare outcomes.