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Clinical Trial
. 2016 May 31:17:237.
doi: 10.1186/s12891-016-1097-5.

A questionnaire to identify patellofemoral pain in the community: an exploration of measurement properties

Paola Dey  1 , Michael Callaghan  2 , Neil Cook  3 , Ruth Sephton  4 , Chris Sutton  5 , Elaine Hough  4 , Jonathan James  4 , Rukhtam Saqib  6 , James Selfe  2
Affiliations
Clinical Trial

A questionnaire to identify patellofemoral pain in the community: an exploration of measurement properties

Paola Dey et al. BMC Musculoskelet Disord. .

Abstract

Background: Community-based studies of patellofemoral pain (PFP) need a questionnaire tool that discriminates between those with and those without the condition. To overcome these issues, we have designed a self-report questionnaire which aims to identify people with PFP in the community.

Study designs: comparative study and cross-sectional study.

Study population: comparative study: PFP patients, soft-tissue injury patients and adults without knee problems. Cross-sectional study: adults attending a science festival.

Intervention: comparative study participants completed the questionnaire at baseline and two weeks later. Cross-sectional study participants completed the questionnaire once. The optimal scoring system and threshold was explored using receiver operating characteristic curves, test-retest reliability using Cohen's kappa and measurement error using Bland-Altman plots and standard error of measurement. Known-group validity was explored by comparing PFP prevalence between genders and age groups.

Results: Eighty-four participants were recruited to the comparative study. The receiver operating characteristic curves suggested limiting the questionnaire to the clinical features and knee pain map sections (AUC 0.97 95 % CI 0.94 to 1.00). This combination had high sensitivity and specificity (over 90 %). Measurement error was less than the mean difference between the groups. Test-retest reliability estimates suggest good agreement (N = 51, k = 0.74, 95 % CI 0.52-0.91). The cross-sectional study (N = 110) showed expected differences between genders and age groups but these were not statistically significant.

Conclusion: A shortened version of the questionnaire, based on clinical features and a knee pain map, has good measurement properties. Further work is needed to validate the questionnaire in community samples.

Keywords: Diagnosis; Differential; Patellofemoral pain; Reliability; Sensitivity and specificity; Validation studies.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flow chart for study one
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Bland Altman plot showing bias and 95 % limits of agreement (sections 2 and 4 combined)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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