Goniometric evaluation of the spinal sagittal curves in children and adolescents: A reliability study

BACKGROUND: Gold standard for spine deformities assessment is X rays, but the procedure bears a risk of exposure. OBJECTIVE: To investigate intra-rater and inter-rater reliability of a pocket compass needle goniometer (IncliMed\uae, University of Padua) to non-invasively evaluate spine curves in children and adolescents. METHODS: Prospective reliability study in a paediatric population (mean age 12.5 years \ub1 2.5). Children with spine deformities (Scheuermann's or postural kyphosis, idiopathic scoliosis) and healthy controls were included. Two physician measured spinal curves with the surface goniometer IncliMed\uae within a temporal range of 10 minutes. Participants were re-tested after a mean of 28 days for the intra-rater study. Agreement limit and coefficient of repeatability were calculated according to the linear regression analysis; the Bland and Altman method was applied to obtain average of differences and standard error of the mean of the differences. RESULTS: One hundred and thirty-nine subjects participated to the inter-rater reliability assessment; 30 to the intra-rater reliability assessment. Inter-observer variability for IncliMed\uae measurements was \ub1 11\ub0 both for kyphosis and for lordosis. The intra-observer variability for kyphosis and lordosis measurements was \ub1 11\ub0 and \ub1 12\ub0. CONCLUSIONS: IncliMed\uae is a reliable, non-invasive tool to screen and monitor spinal curves in paediatric populations