Initial Psychometric Evaluation of the Portuguese Version of the Canine Orthopedic Index.

OBJECTIVE:  The aim of this study was to perform the initial psychometric evaluation of the Portuguese version of the Canine Orthopaedic Index (COI).

STUDY DESIGN:  In a prospective, randomized study, a group of 50 police working dogs with bilateral hip osteoarthritis was assessed. A copy of the translated Portuguese version of the COI was completed by canine handlers, native Portuguese speakers. This result was compared with that of 50 sound dogs. Construct validity was determined by comparing sound dogs and dogs with osteoarthritis scores with the Mann-Whitney test. Additionally, the Kaiser-Meyer-Olin measure of sampling adequacy, eigenvalue, and scree-plot analysis were performed. Internal consistency was tested with Cronbach's α.

RESULTS:  A significant difference was observed between osteoarthritis and sound dogs in all dimensions of the COI ( p  < 0.01 for all), indicating construct validity. Two factors accounted for 87.8% of the total variance. Cronbach's α was 0.98, with a high interitem correlation, accounting for strong internal consistency.

CONCLUSION:  We presented criterion and construct validity of the Portuguese version of the COI. It is a step in providing clinicians with a validated and accessible tool to evaluate orthopaedic patients. Further studies are required.