The 9-item Avoidance Endurance Fast-Screen (AE-FS) appeared to be significantly functional screening instrument and showed a satisfactory prognostic validity for physical function, pain and disability among patients suffering from subacute low back pain, depicts a recent study published in Schmerz journal.

 The devices which assess emotional discomfort and fear-avoidance pain in low back patients are very less. The screening measures targeting contrasting pain processing may improve patient counselling. S. V. Wolff and colleagues conducted a prospective observational study to establish a short screening tool by involving avoidance-endurance model to evaluate prognostic validity related to low back pain.

The screening test was carried out among 144 patients who suffered from subacute low back pain for more than three months. The receiver operating curve (ROC) analyses and previous 37-item screenings were used to get the 9-item avoidance-endurance fast screening (AE-FS). Cohen's kappa was utilised to assess subgrouping agreement. Pain and disability were taken as endpoints. The outcomes were determined via mail after six months.

 The Cohen's Kappa showed 0.71 agreement value of subgrouping as high as well as low risks. The tool has high pain prediction sensitivity (82%). The positive prediction value noticed was 80%, and the negative was 61%. The ROC noticed for pain intensity and PDI limitations was with 0.70 CI.