Assessment of Isometric Knee Flexor Strength Using Hand-Held Dynamometry in High-Level Rugby Players Is Intertester Reliable.

OBJECTIVE: To assess intertester reliability of isometric knee flexor strength testing in high-level rugby players with testers of different physical capacity and different methods of dynamometer fixation. DESIGN: Reliability study. PATIENTS: Thirty noninjured high-level (Tegner Activity Score ≥9) rugby players, free from hamstring injury in the previous 2 months. ASSESSMENT: Isometric knee flexor strength (in N) in prone 0/15 degrees (hip/knee flexion) and supine 90/90 degrees position. Tests were performed by 1 female and 2 male testers whose upper-body strength was measured with a 6-repetition maximum bench press test. The prone 0/15 degrees measurement was performed with manual and external belt fixation of the dynamometer. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Absolute and relative intertester reliability were calculated using intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and minimal detectable change. Paired t-tests were used to identify systematic measurement error between testers and to test for a difference in recorded knee flexor strength between methods of dynamometer fixation. METHODS: Isometric knee flexor strength was measured in prone 0/15 degrees (hip/knee flexion) and supine 90/90 degrees position. RESULTS: Good intertester reliability was found for all pairwise comparisons (ICC 0.80-0.87). MDCs (as percentage of mean strength) ranged from 15.2% to 25.4%. For tester couples where systematic error was identified, Bland-Altman plots and Pearson correlation coefficients demonstrated no statistically significant correlation between mean knee flexor strength and between-tester difference. There was no significant difference in isometric knee flexor strength between manual and belt fixation of the dynamometer. CONCLUSIONS: In strong high-level rugby players, hand-held dynamometry for isometric knee flexor strength assessment in prone 0/15 degrees and supine 90/90 degrees position is intertester reliable.

Reliability of MRI in Acute Full-thickness Proximal Hamstring Tendon Avulsion in Clinical Practice.

In clinically suspected acute full-thickness proximal hamstring tendon avulsions, MRI is the gold standard for evaluating the extent of the injury. MRI variables such as full-thickness free tendon discontinuity, extent of tendon retraction (>20 mm), and continuity of the sacrotuberous ligament with the conjoint tendon (STL-CT) are used in treatment decision-making. The objective was to assess the intra- and inter-rater reliability of these relevant MRI variables after acute full-thickness proximal hamstring tendon avulsion. Three musculoskeletal radiologists assessed MRIs of 40 patients with an acute full-thickness proximal hamstring tendon avulsion. MRI variables included assessment of free tendon discontinuity and continuity of the STL-CT and extent of tendon retraction. Absolute and relative intra- and inter-rater reliability were calculated. Intra- and inter-rater reliability for the assessment of tendon discontinuity was substantial (Kappa [ĸ]=0.78;0.77). For the retraction measurement of the conjoint and semimembranosus tendons, intra-rater reliability was moderate and poor (Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC)=0.74;0.45), inter-rater reliability was moderate (ICC=0.73;0.57). Intra- and inter-rater reliability of the STL-CT continuity assessment was substantial and fair (ĸ=0.74;0.31). In conclusion, MRI assessment for full-thickness free tendon discontinuity is reliable. However, assessment of extent of tendon retraction and STL-CT continuity is not reliable enough to guide the treatment decision-making process.

Polyethylene thickness does not influence aseptic revision rate with highly cross-linked liners in THA with 36-mm femoral heads.

BACKGROUND: To reduce the risk of dislocation, larger head size can be used in total hip arthroplasty (THA). However, larger head size leads to thinner acetabular liners. With conventional polyethylene, thickness of >8 mm has been advocated to reduce stress and wear rate of the polyethylene. Modern polyethylene has become more wear-resistant. In this study, we investigated if the thickness of sequentially cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE) liners is associated with failure of THA in the medium term. PATIENTS AND METHODS: 3654 THAs were included (2009-2016), in which THA was performed with a XLPE liner in combination with a 36-mm femoral head. Patient and surgical characteristics were collected. We compared implant survival of THA with thin liners (<7.9 mm) and thick liners (⩾7.9 mm) with a Kaplan Meier survival analysis at 5 years, median follow-up and 10 years of follow-up with and point aseptic loosening and performed a multivariate analysis to estimate hazard ratios (HR). RESULTS: Median follow-up was 7.7 years (IQR 5.6-9.8). In total, 179 revision procedures were performed, where 82 revisions (46%) were performed for aseptic loosening. The survival rate at 5 years, median and 10 years of follow-up showed no statistically significant difference in implant survival. The survival rate at 10 years follow-up was for thin liners 97.1% (95% CI, 96.3-97.9) and for thick liners 98.2% (95% CI, 97.4-99.0) in the aseptic loosening group (chi-square 2.55; p = 0.11).The adjusted HR for thick liners (⩾7.9 mm) was 0.65 (95% CI, 0.38-1.08) compared with the thin liners (<7.9 mm), which was not significantly different. CONCLUSIONS: From this single-centre retrospective study it appears that thinner polyethylene liners are well tolerated when using second-generation highly cross-linked polyethylene. Thickness of the XLPE liners did not influence the risk of aseptic loosening of the implants in the medium term.

Good Interrater Reliability for Standardized MRI Assessment of Tendon Discontinuity and Tendon Retraction in Acute Proximal Full-Thickness Hamstring Tendon Injury.

BACKGROUND: Proximal full-thickness free hamstring tendon injury (ie, tendon avulsion or rupture) is a severe injury. Treatment decision making relies on clinical factors and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) variables; it specifically relies on which tendons are injured as well as the extent of tendon retraction. According to a worldwide evaluation of current practice, discontinuity of both proximal tendons and retraction of >2 cm are used as surgical indications. However, both the diagnosis and the use of MRI variables in decision making may be fraught with uncertainty in clinical practice. A reliable standardized MRI assessment is required. PURPOSE: To propose an MRI assessment for acute proximal full-thickness free hamstring tendon injury and to evaluate its interater reliability. STUDY DESIGN: Cohort study (diagnosis); Level of evidence, 2. METHODS: We included 40 MRI scans of patients with acute (≤4 weeks of injury) proximal full-thickness free hamstring tendon injury. Three musculoskeletal radiologists assessed proximal full-thickness free hamstring tendon discontinuity using the novel "dropped ice cream sign" and tendon retraction (in mm). Quantification of tendon retraction (in mm) was performed using 2 different methods: (1) a direct (ie, shortest distance between the center of the hamstring origin and the tendon stump) method and (2) a combined craniocaudal/mediolateral measurement method. Absolute and relative interrater reliability were calculated. RESULTS: We found an almost perfect interrater agreement (kappa = 0.87) for assessment of full-thickness tendon discontinuity using the dropped ice cream sign. Interrater agreement for the direct and craniocaudal retraction measurements was good for both the conjoint (intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC], 0.88 and 0.83) and the semimembranosus tendons (ICC, 0.81 and 0.79). The mediolateral retraction measurement yielded only moderate to poor reliability for the conjoint (ICC, 0.53) and semimembranosus tendons (ICC, 0.41). CONCLUSION: The standardized MRI assessment to identify proximal hamstring tendon discontinuity and quantify tendon retraction is reliable. We recommend using the novel dropped ice cream sign and the direct retraction measurement in clinical practice and research.