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Patient-reported outcome measures for patellofemoral disorders: a systematic review

  • Orthopaedic Surgery
  • Published:
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Abstract

Introduction

Patellofemoral conditions include, but are not limited to, anterior knee pain syndrome and patellar instability. Patients and surgeons may find it difficult to identify the specific source of the symptoms and clinical scenarios, so patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) may be a useful diagnostic aid. There are a number of available PROMs for patellofemoral conditions, which are often used indistinctly. This systematic review explores the available PROMs for patellofemoral conditions, their use and methodological quality.

Methods

A systematic review was conducted, searching for scientific articles relating to PROMs in patellofemoral conditions, from inception to July 2022. Scoring systems including physician-directed or imagining assessment were not included. All types of conditions in the patellofemoral joint were considered.

Results

Twenty-two relevant PROMs were encountered, divided into four categories: eight PROMs for anterior knee pain syndrome, five for patellar instability, four for other patellofemoral conditions and five for non-specific PROMs.

Conclusions

While many PROMs have been found used in patellofemoral research, only few of them have showed sufficient methodological quality. In addition, PROMs employed in PF literature are often inaccurately chosen. This review may help authors to better understand the characteristics of specific patellofemoral PROMs, in order to select the more appropriate and recommended ones.

Level of evidence

Level II.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Ciencias Médicas y Quirúrgicas, Universidad de las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain

    Sergio Barroso Rosa

  2. The Orthopaedic Research Institute of Queensland, Townsville, QLD, Australia

    Sergio Barroso Rosa, Andrea Grant & Peter McEwen

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All authors have read and approved the final submitted manuscript. A summary of each author contribution is displayed below: SB: contributed to original ideal, biblioghraphic review, manuscript preparation. AG: contributed to bibliographic review, manuscript preparation. PM: contributed to bibliographic review, manuscript preparation.

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Barroso Rosa, S., Grant, A. & McEwen, P. Patient-reported outcome measures for patellofemoral disorders: a systematic review. Arch Orthop Trauma Surg 143, 3919–3927 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00402-022-04663-3

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