GONIOMETRIC EVALUATION OF 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®, 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 + 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® 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: 139 subjects participated to the inter-rater reliability assessment; 30 to the intra-rater reliability assessment. Inter-observer variability for IncliMed® measurements was ±11° both for kyphosis and for lordosis. The intra-observer variability for kyphosis and lordosis measurements was ±11° and ±12°. CONCLUSIONS: IncliMed® is a reliable, non-invasive tool to screen and monitor spinal curves in paediatric populations.