EVALUATION OF A GERMAN QUESTIONNAIRE-FORM AT OF THE LEQUESNE ALGO-FUNCTIONAL OSTEOARTHRITIS INDEXES FOR THE HIP AND KNEE

The Lequesne algofunctional indices for the knee and the hip require a physician interview. We adapted the Lequesne indices for the German l anguage and tested the metric properties, test-retest reliability and validity of a self-report questionnaire-format in 51 patients with hip or knee OA. The symptom and function components as well as the global indices had a high test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation co efficient knee: 0.87/0.92 and 0.86, hip: 0.96/0.85 and 0.94). The symp tom component showed an insufficient internal consistency (Cronbach's coefficient alpha knee: 0.55; hip: 0.63). Also, the symptom component was not or only weakly associated with radiological OA-severity and th e limitations of range-of-motion. The most likely explanation is the g rading of the Lequesne symptom questions which addresses such differen t concepts as pain presence, pain on movement, duration of pain and ap pearance of pain after a certain period of time. Because of the insuff icient internal consistency and questionable validity the tested self- report German-version of the Lequesne algofunctional indices may not b e recommended for use in clinical research and practice.