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Which is the Best Method to Determine the Patellar Height in Children and Adolescents?

  • Clinical Research
  • Published:
Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research®

Abstract

Patellar height is associated with various clinical syndromes. We asked which of three methods was the most appropriate for measuring patellar height for different age groups in terms of applicability, validity, and reliability. We evaluated 108 children and adolescents with available MR images and lateral knee radiographs using Insall-Salvati (IS), Blackburne-Peel, and Koshino-Sugimoto (KS) methods. Subjects were divided equally into three age groups (A, 5–10.9 years; B, 11–12.9 years; C, 13–18 years). The applicabilities of the three methods were evaluated using bony landmarks identified on lateral radiographs. For validation testing, standardized patellar tendon lengths determined by MRI were used as reference standards, and concurrent validity was analyzed by performing correlation tests. Intraobserver and interobserver reliability were determined using intraclass correlation coefficients. Of the three methods used to measure patellar height in this study, the IS appeared to be the most reliable and valid in patients older than 13 years with nearly complete ossification. Before this stage of ossification had been achieved, the KS was the only applicable and most reliable but less valid method in younger children.

Level of Evidence: Level I, diagnostic study. See Guidelines for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Mi Seon Ryu for assistance in data collection.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, 300 Gumi-Dong, Bundang-Gu, Sungnam, Kyungki, 463-707, Korea

    Moon Seok Park MD, Chin Youb Chung MD, Kyoung Min Lee MD & Sang Hyeong Lee MD

  2. Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Seoul National University Children’s Hospital, Seoul, Korea

    In Ho Choi MD

Authors
  1. Moon Seok Park MD
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  2. Chin Youb Chung MD
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  3. Kyoung Min Lee MD
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  4. Sang Hyeong Lee MD
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  5. In Ho Choi MD
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Correspondence to Kyoung Min Lee MD.

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Each author certifies that he or she has no commercial associations (eg, consultancies, stock ownership, equity interest, patent/licensing arrangements, etc) that might pose a conflict of interest in connection with the submitted article.

Each author certifies that his or her institution approved the human protocol for this investigation and that all investigations were conducted in conformity with ethical principles of research.

This work was performed at Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Sungnam, Kyungki, Korea.

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Park, M.S., Chung, C.Y., Lee, K.M. et al. Which is the Best Method to Determine the Patellar Height in Children and Adolescents?. Clin Orthop Relat Res 468, 1344–1351 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11999-009-0995-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11999-009-0995-3

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