Abstract
Background: The McGuire Clubfoot scoring system has been used at this institution for many years to monitor clubfoot as children grow and develop. It is a rapidly administered manual test of passive abduction, active eversion, passive dorsiflexion with the knee flexed and extended and of plantar fl exion. Up until this time it has not been subjected to reliability or validity studies. The aim of this study was to establish inter-rater reliability of the McGuire Clubfoot scoring system.
Methods: 4 clinicians assessed a cohort of 30 children (12 – 60 months). 24 children had unilateral or bi-lateral clubfoot, and 6 children had typically developing feet. A total category score of normal or mild, moderate or severe deformity was calculated by summing the 5 sub-component scores. Single measure intraclass coefficients with a 95% confidence interval and chronbach alphas were used to determine inter-rater agreement of the assessors.
Results: The absolute agreement between the assessors was acceptable for the total score category of each foot (Chronbach alpha L = 0.767; R= 0.678.) Intra-class correlations showed fair to moderate reliability between testers when the overall category score for each foot was considered (L: rho = 0.451; R: rho = 0.345) Of interest, the agreement results were much higher on the left foot compared to the right, and the more experienced clinicians had higher levels of agreement compared to the less experienced clinicians.
Conclusion: The McGuire Clubfoot scoring system is a reliable tool for ongoing assessment for children treated for clubfoot.
Methods: 4 clinicians assessed a cohort of 30 children (12 – 60 months). 24 children had unilateral or bi-lateral clubfoot, and 6 children had typically developing feet. A total category score of normal or mild, moderate or severe deformity was calculated by summing the 5 sub-component scores. Single measure intraclass coefficients with a 95% confidence interval and chronbach alphas were used to determine inter-rater agreement of the assessors.
Results: The absolute agreement between the assessors was acceptable for the total score category of each foot (Chronbach alpha L = 0.767; R= 0.678.) Intra-class correlations showed fair to moderate reliability between testers when the overall category score for each foot was considered (L: rho = 0.451; R: rho = 0.345) Of interest, the agreement results were much higher on the left foot compared to the right, and the more experienced clinicians had higher levels of agreement compared to the less experienced clinicians.
Conclusion: The McGuire Clubfoot scoring system is a reliable tool for ongoing assessment for children treated for clubfoot.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages | 87 |
| Number of pages | 1 |
| Publication status | Published - Oct 2011 |
| Event | APA Physiotherapy Conference 2011 - Brisbane, Brisbane, Australia Duration: 27 Oct 2011 → 30 Oct 2011 |
Conference
| Conference | APA Physiotherapy Conference 2011 |
|---|---|
| Abbreviated title | APA 2011 |
| Country/Territory | Australia |
| City | Brisbane |
| Period | 27/10/11 → 30/10/11 |