Development of a clinical prediction rule for classifying patients with patellofemoral pain syndrome who respond to patellar taping.

STUDY DESIGN: Predictive validity/diagnostic test study.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the predictive validity and interrater reliability of selected clinical exam items and to develop a clinical prediction rule (CPR) to determine which patients respond successfully to patellar taping.

BACKGROUND: Patellar taping is often used to treat patients with PFPS. However, the characteristics of the patients who respond best to patellar taping intervention have not been identified.

METHODS AND MEASURES: Fifty volunteers (27 males, 23 females) with PFPS underwent a standardized clinical examination. Diagnosis of PFPS was based on the complaint of retropatellar pain that was provoked by a partial squat or stair ascent/descent. Subjects performed 3 functional activities and rated their pain during each activity on a numerical rating scale (NPRS). All subjects received treatment with a medial glide patellar-taping technique and repeated the functional activities and pain ratings. An immediate 50% reduction in pain or moderate improvement on a global rating of change (GRC) questionnaire was considered a treatment success. Likelihood ratios (LRs) were calculated to determine which examination items were most predictive of treatment outcome. Logistic regression analysis identified items included in the CPR.

RESULTS: Twenty-six subjects (52%) had an immediate successful response to the intervention. Two examination items (positive patellar tilt test or tibial varum greater than 5 degrees, +LR = 4.4) comprised the CPR. Application of the CPR improved the probability of a successful outcome from 52% to 83%. Fifty-eight percent of the lower extremity measures were associated with moderate to good reliability (reliability coefficient range, 0.52-0.84). The reliability coefficients for the items that comprised the CPR were 0.49 (patellar tilt) and 0.66 (tibial varum).

CONCLUSION: A CPR was developed to predict an immediate successful response to a medial glide patellar taping technique. Validation of the CPR in an independent sample is necessary before widespread clinical use can be recommended.