Physical Therapy

Background and Purpose. Assessment of the quality of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) is common practice in systematic reviews. However, the reliability of data obtained with most quality assessment scales has not been established. This report describes 2 studies designed to investigate the reliability of data obtained with the Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro) scale developed to rate the quality of RCTs evaluating physical therapist interventions. Method. In the first study, 11 raters independently rated 25 RCTs randomly selected from the PEDro database. In the second study, 2 raters rated 120 RCTs randomly selected from the PEDro database, and disagreements were resolved by a third rater; this generated a set of individual rater and consensus ratings. The process was repeated by independent raters to create a second set of individual and consensus ratings. Reliability of ratings of PEDro scale items was calculated using multirater kappas, and reliability of the total (summed) score was calculated using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC [1,1]). Results. The kappa value for each of the 11 items ranged from .36 to .80 for individual assessors and from .50 to .79 for consensus ratings generated by groups of 2 or 3 raters. The ICC for the total score was .56 (95% confidence interval=.47–.65) for ratings by individuals, and the ICC for consensus ratings was .68 (95% confidence interval=.57–.76). Discussion and Conclusion. The reliability of ratings of PEDro scale items varied from “fair” to “substantial,” and the reliability of the total PEDro score was “fair” to “good.”

Mục đích. Bài báo này xem xét và minh họa việc sử dụng và diễn giải thống kê kappa trong nghiên cứu cơ xương khớp. Tóm tắt những điểm chính. Độ tin cậy của đánh giá từ các lâm sàng là một yếu tố quan trọng trong các lĩnh vực như chẩn đoán và diễn giải các phát hiện từ kiểm tra. Thường thì những đánh giá này nằm trên một thang đo danh nghĩa hoặc thứ bậc. Đối với những dữ liệu như vậy, hệ số kappa là một thước đo độ tin cậy thích hợp. Kappa được định nghĩa, cả dưới dạng có trọng số và không có trọng số, và việc sử dụng nó được minh họa bằng các ví dụ từ nghiên cứu cơ xương khớp. Các yếu tố có thể ảnh hưởng đến độ lớn của kappa (tần suất, thiên lệch và các đánh giá không độc lập) được thảo luận, và các cách đánh giá độ lớn của kappa thu được cũng được xem xét. Vấn đề kiểm tra thống kê kappa được xem xét, bao gồm việc sử dụng khoảng tin cậy, và kích thước mẫu thích hợp cho các nghiên cứu độ tin cậy sử dụng kappa cũng được trình bày trong bảng. Kết luận. Bài báo kết thúc với các khuyến nghị cho việc sử dụng và diễn giải kappa.

Editor's Note: PTJ's Editorial Board has adopted PRISMA to help PTJ better communicate research to physical therapists. For more, read Chris Maher's editorial starting on page 870.

Membership of the PRISMA Group is provided in the Acknowledgments.

This article has been reprinted with permission from the Annals of Internal Medicine from Moher D, Liberati A, Tetzlaff J, Altman DG, The PRISMA Group. Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses: The PRISMA Statement. Ann Intern Med. Available at: http://www.annals.org/cgi/content/full/151/4/264. The authors jointly hold copyright of this article. This article has also been published in PLoS Medicine, BMJ, Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, and Open Medicine.

Copyright © 2009 Moher et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Background and Purpose. The interpretation of patient scores on clinical tests of physical mobility is limited by a lack of data describing the range of performance among people without disabilities. The purpose of this study was to provide data for 4 common clinical tests in a sample of community-dwelling older adults. Subjects. Ninety-six community-dwelling elderly people (61–89 years of age) with independent functioning performed 4 clinical tests. Methods. Data were collected on the Six-Minute Walk Test (6MW), Berg Balance Scale (BBS), and Timed Up & Go Test (TUG) and during comfortable- and fast-speed walking (CGS and FGS). Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) were used to determine the test-retest reliability for the 6MW, TUG, CGS, and FGS measurements. Data were analyzed by gender and age (60–69, 70–79, and 80–89 years) cohorts, similar to previous studies. Means, standard deviations, and 95% confidence intervals for each measurement were calculated for each cohort. Results. The 6MW, TUG, CGS, and FGS measurements showed high test-retest reliability (ICC [2,1]=.95–.97). Mean test scores showed a trend of age-related declines for the 6MW, BBS, TUG, CGS, and FGS for both male and female subjects. Discussion and Conclusion. Preliminary descriptive data suggest that physical therapists should use age-related data when interpreting patient data obtained for the 6MW, BBS, TUG, CGS and FGS. Further data on these clinical tests with larger sample sizes are needed to serve as a reference for patient comparisons.

Background and Purpose. Treatment of patients with impingement symptoms commonly includes exercises intended to restore “normal” movement patterns. Evidence that indicates the existence of abnormal patterns in people with shoulder pain is limited. The purpose of this investigation was to analyze glenohumeral and scapulothoracic kinematics and associated scapulothoracic muscle activity in a group of subjects with symptoms of shoulder impingement relative to a group of subjects without symptoms of shoulder impingement matched for occupational exposure to overhead work. Subjects. Fifty-two subjects were recruited from a population of construction workers with routine exposure to overhead work. Methods. Surface electromyographic data were collected from the upper and lower parts of the trapezius muscle and from the serratus anterior muscle. Electromagnetic sensors simultaneously tracked 3-dimensional motion of the trunk, scapula, and humerus during humeral elevation in the scapular plane in 3 hand-held load conditions: (1) no load, (2) 2.3-kg load, and (3) 4.6-kg load. An analysis of variance model was used to test for group and load effects for 3 phases of motion (31°–60°, 61°–90°, and 91°–120°). Results. Relative to the group without impingement, the group with impingement showed decreased scapular upward rotation at the end of the first of the 3 phases of interest, increased anterior tipping at the end of the third phase of interest, and increased scapular medial rotation under the load conditions. At the same time, upper and lower trapezius muscle electromyographic activity increased in the group with impingement as compared with the group without impingement in the final 2 phases, although the upper trapezius muscle changes were apparent only during the 4.6-kg load condition. The serratus anterior muscle demonstrated decreased activity in the group with impingement across all loads and phases. Conclusion and Discussion. Scapular tipping (rotation about a medial to lateral axis) and serratus anterior muscle function are important to consider in the rehabilitation of patients with symptoms of shoulder impingement related to occupational exposure to overhead work.

Physical therapists commonly treat people with diabetes for a wide variety of diabetes-associated impairments, including those from diabetes-related vascular disease. Diabetes is associated with both microvascular and macrovascular diseases affecting several organs, including muscle, skin, heart, brain, and kidneys. A common etiology links the different types of diabetes-associated vascular disease. Common risk factors for vascular disease in people with diabetes, specifically type 2 diabetes, include hyperglycemia, insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, hypertension, tobacco use, and obesity. Mechanisms for vascular disease in diabetes include the pathologic effects of advanced glycation end product accumulation, impaired vasodilatory response attributable to nitric oxide inhibition, smooth muscle cell dysfunction, overproduction of endothelial growth factors, chronic inflammation, hemodynamic dysregulation, impaired fibrinolytic ability, and enhanced platelet aggregation. It is becoming increasingly important for physical therapists to be aware of diabetes-related vascular complications as more patients present with insulin resistance and diabetes. The opportunities for effective physical therapy interventions (such as exercise) are significant.