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Development and validation of a new visa questionnaire (VISA-H) for patients with proximal hamstring tendinopathy
  1. Angelo Cacchio1,
  2. Fosco De Paulis2,
  3. Nicola Maffulli3
  1. 1Department of Life, Health and Environmental Sciences, School of Medicine, University of L'Aquila, L'Aquila, Italy
  2. 2Division of Diagnostic Imaging, Valle Giulia Clinic, Roma, Italy
  3. 3Centre for Sports and Exercise Medicine Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Mile End Hospital, London, UK
  1. Correspondence to Professor Angelo Cacchio, Dipartimento di Medicina Clinica, Sanità Pubblica, Scienze della Vita e dell'Ambiente, Università degli Studi dell'Aquila, P.le Salvatore Tommasi 1, L'Aquila 67100, Italy; angelo.cacchio{at}tin.it

Abstract

Background There is a need for a patient-reported outcome (PRO) questionnaire to evaluate patients with proximal hamstring tendinopathy (PHT).

Objective To develop a PRO questionnaire based on VISA questionnaire forms for patients with PHT.

Methods Item generation, item reduction, item scaling and evaluation of the psychometric properties were used to develop a questionnaire to assess the severity of symptoms, function and ability to play sports in patients with PHT and healthy subjects. The final version, named Victorian Institute of Sport Assessment-Proximal Hamstring Tendons (VISA-H), consisted of eight questions that measured the domains of pain, function and sporting activity. The psychometric properties of a questionnaire were estimated in a population of non-surgical (n=20) and surgical (n=10) patients, as well as in healthy subjects (n=30).

Results The VISA-H questionnaire displayed a high degree of internal consistency, with a Cronbach α of 0.84. (The test–retest reliability was high for all groups of participants with an intraclass correlation coefficient ranging from 0.90 to 0.95.) The VISA-H exhibited a high correlation with the Nirschl phase rating scale (r ranging from −0.75 to −0.89) and a generic tendon grading system proposed by Curwin and Stanish (r ranging from −0.70 to −0.88). Also, the responsiveness was higher for the VISA-H questionnaire with an area under the curve of 0.90 and a minimum clinically important difference of 22 points.

Conclusions The VISA-H is a PRO questionnaire with high psychometric properties for measuring pain, function and sporting activity in patients with PHT.

  • Hamstring injuries

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