Diagnostic Accuracy of a Self-report Measure of Patellar Tendinopathy in Youth Basketball.

BACKGROUND

To engage clinicians in diagnosing patellar tendinopathy in large surveillance studies is often impracticable. The Oslo Sports Trauma Research Centre-patellar tendinopathy (OSTRC-P) questionnaire, a self-report measure adapted from the OSTRC questionnaire, may provide a viable alternative.

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of the OSTRC-P questionnaire in detecting patellar tendinopathy in youth basketball players when compared to clinical evaluation.

METHODS

Following the STAndards for Reporting of Diagnostic accuracy studies guidelines, the researchers recruited 208 youth basketball players (13-18 years of age) for this prospective diagnostic accuracy validation study. Participants completed the OSTRC-P questionnaire (index test) prior to a clinical evaluation (reference standard) by a physical therapist blinded to OSTRC-P questionnaire results. Sensitivity, specificity, predictive value, likelihood ratio, and posttest probability were calculated. Linear regression was used to examine the association between the OSTRC-P questionnaire severity score and the patellar tendinopathy severity rating during a single-leg decline squat.

RESULTS

The final analysis included 169 players. The OSTRC-P questionnaire had a sensitivity of 79% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 65%, 90%), specificity of 98% (95% CI: 94%, 100%), positive predictive value of 95% (95% CI: 83%, 99%), negative predictive value of 92% (95% CI: 86%, 96%), positive likelihood ratio of 48 (95% CI: 12, 191), and negative likelihood ratio of 0.21 (95% CI: 0.12, 0.37). The posttest probabilities were 95% and 8%, given positive and negative results, respectively. A positive association was found between OSTRC-P questionnaire severity score and single-leg decline squat rating (β = 0.08; 95% CI: 0.03, 0.12; P = .001).

CONCLUSION

The OSTRC-P questionnaire is an acceptable alternative to clinical evaluation for self-reporting patellar tendinopathy and grading its severity in settings involving youth basketball players.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Diagnosis, level 1b. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 2018;48(10):758-766. Epub 27 Apr 2018. doi:10.2519/jospt.2018.8088.