Functional data as part of clinical outcomes such as Activities of Daily Living and Quality of Life (QOL) frequently depend on surveys and are thus inherently limited by self-reporting and patient subjectivity. Specifically, the 12-Item Short Form Survey (SF-12), 36-Item Short Form Survey (SF-36), and Carolinas Comfort Scale are validated instruments for assessing medical and surgical QOL outcomes. However, performance-based measures of disability are lacking. We propose the Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT) as a novel clinical measure of function following surgical intervention. We believe that studies using the APFT as a surgical outcome can potentially provide novel, relevant insights that may guide the utilization of specific surgical interventions and that the use of APFT data in surgical research will meet contemporary ethical standards.
Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Association of Military Surgeons of the United States 2021. This work is written by (a) US Government employee(s) and is in the public domain in the US.