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Diagnostic Validity of Combining History Elements and Physical Examination Tests for Traumatic and Degenerative Symptomatic Meniscal Tears
Author(s) -
Décary Simon,
Fallaha Michel,
Frémont Pierre,
MartelPelletier Johanne,
Pelletier JeanPierre,
Feldman Debbie E.,
Sylvestre MariePierre,
Vendittoli PascalAndré,
Desmeules François
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
pmandr
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.617
H-Index - 66
eISSN - 1934-1563
pISSN - 1934-1482
DOI - 10.1016/j.pmrj.2017.10.009
Subject(s) - medicine , physical examination , physical therapy , orthopedic surgery , gold standard (test) , medical history , magnetic resonance imaging , confidence interval , surgery , radiology
Background The current approach to the clinical diagnosis of traumatic and degenerative symptomatic meniscal tears (SMTs) proposes combining history elements and physical examination tests without systematic prescription of imaging investigations, yet the evidence to support this diagnostic approach is scarce. Objective To assess the validity of diagnostic clusters combining history elements and physical examination tests to diagnose or exclude traumatic and degenerative SMT compared with other knee disorders. Design Prospective diagnostic accuracy study. Settings Patients were recruited from 2 orthopedic clinics, 2 family medicine clinics, and from a university community. Patients A total of 279 consecutive patients who underwent consultation for a new knee complaint. Methods Each patient was assessed independently by 2 evaluators. History elements and standardized physical examination tests performed by a physiotherapist were compared with the reference standard: an expert physicians' composite diagnosis including a clinical examination and confirmatory magnetic resonance imaging. Participating expert physicians were orthopedic surgeons (n = 3) or sport medicine physicians (n = 2). Penalized logistic regression (least absolute shrinkage and selection operator) was used to identify history elements and physical examination tests associated with the diagnosis of SMT and recursive partitioning was used to develop diagnostic clusters. Main Outcome Measures Diagnostic accuracy measures were calculated including sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, and positive and negative likelihood ratios (LR+/–) with associated 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results Eighty patients had a diagnosis of SMT (28.7%), including 35 traumatic tears and 45 degenerative tears. The combination a history of trauma during a pivot, medial knee pain location, and a positive medial joint line tenderness test was able to diagnose (LR+ = 8.9; 95% CI 6.1‐13.1) or exclude (LR– = 0.10; 95% CI 0.03‐0.28) a traumatic SMT. Combining a history of progressive onset of pain, medial knee pain location, pain while pivoting, absence of valgus or varus knee misalignment, or full passive knee flexion was able to moderately diagnose (LR+ = 6.4; 95% CI 4.0‐10.4) or exclude (LR– = 0.10; 95% CI 0.03‐0.31) a degenerative SMT. Internal validation estimates were slightly lower for all clusters but demonstrated positive LR superior to 5 and negative LR inferior to 0.2 indicating moderate shift in posttest probability. Conclusion Diagnostic clusters combining history elements and physical examination tests can support the differential diagnosis of SMT. These results represent the initial derivation of the clusters and external validation is mandatory. Level of Evidence I