FUNCTIONAL OUTCOME MEASURES AFTER DISPLACED INTRA-ARTICULAR CALCANEAL FRACTURES

We have devised a new scoring system using visualanalogue scales (VAS) to determine the functional outcome in 15 patients with 20 displaced intra-articular calcaneal fractures, confirmed by CT. The average follow-up was 19 months. A VAS was completed separately by the patient, the surgeon and an independent assessor. It showed satisfactory agreement between observers and strong correlations with a General Health Survey (SF36), a pain scale (McGill Pain Questionnaire) and a disease-specific, historical scale for calcaneal fractures (the Rowe score). J Bone Joint Surg [Br] 1996;78-B:119-23. There has been a change in clinical research in orthopaedic surgery with regard to outcome measurements. The patient’s view of daily activities and function at work o