The German version of the Nottingham Clavicle Score is a reliable and valid patient‐reported outcome measure to evaluate patients with clavicle and acromioclavicular pathologies

Abstract

AbstractPurposeThe Nottingham Clavicle Score (NCS) is a patient‐reported outcome measure developed to evaluate treatment results of clavicle, acromioclavicular and sternoclavicular joint pathologies. Valid, reliable and user‐friendly translations of outcome measure instruments are needed to allow comparisons of international results. The aim of this cross‐sectional study was to translate and adapt the NCS into German and evaluate the psychometric properties of the German version.MethodsThe translation and cross‐cultural adaptation of the NCS were completed using a ‘translation–back translation” method and the final version was administered to 105 German‐speaking patients. The psychometric properties of this version (NCS‐G) were evaluated in terms of feasibility, reliability, validity and sensitivity to change.ResultsNo major differences occurred between the NCS translations into German and back into English, and no content‐ or linguistic‐related difficulties were reported. The Cronbach’s alpha for the NCS‐G was 0.885, showing optimal internal consistency. The Intraclass Correlation Coefficient for test–retest reliability was 0.907 (95% CI 0.844–0.945), with a standard error of measurement of 5.59 points and a minimal detectable change of 15.50 points. The NCS‐G showed moderate to strong correlation with all other investigated scales (Spearman correlation coefficient: qDASH: ρ =  – 0.751; OSS: ρ = 0.728; Imatani Score: ρ = 0.646; CMS: ρ = 0.621; VAS: ρ =  – 0.709). Good sensitivity to change was confirmed by an effect size of 1.17 (95% CI 0.89–1.47) and a standardized response mean of 1.23 (95% CI 0.98–1.45).ConclusionsThis study demonstrated that NCS‐G is reliable, valid, reproducible and well accepted by patients, showing analogous psychometric properties to the original English version.Level of evidenceLevel III.