IntroductionPatient satisfaction becomes more important in our modern health care system. The assessment of satisfaction is difficult because it is a multifactorial item for which no golden standard exists. One of the potential methods of measuring satisfaction is by using the well-known visual analogue scale (VAS). In this study, we validated VAS for satisfaction.Patient and methodsIn this prospective study, we studied 147 patients (153 hips). The construct validity was measured using the Spearman correlation test that compares the satisfaction VAS with the Harris hip score, pain VAS at rest and during activity, Oxford hip score, Short Form 36 and Western Ontario McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index. The reliability was tested using the intra-class coefficient.ResultsThe Pearson correlation test showed correlations in the range of 0.40–0.80. The satisfaction VAS had a high correlation between the pain VAS and Oxford hip score, which could mean that pain is one of the most important factors in patient satisfaction. The intra-class coefficient was 0.95.ConclusionsThere is a moderate to mark degree of correlation between the satisfaction VAS and the currently available subjective and objective scoring systems. The intra-class coefficient of 0.95 indicates an excellent test–retest reliability. The VAS satisfaction is a simple instrument to quantify the satisfaction of a patient after total hip arthroplasty. In this study, we showed that the satisfaction VAS has a good validity and reliability.

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A 12-week-isolated eccentric training programme of the rotator cuff is beneficial for shoulder function and pain after 26 weeks in patients with rotator cuff tendinopathy. However, it is no more beneficial than a conventional exercise programme for the rotator cuff and scapular muscles. Based on the results, clinicians should take into account that performing two eccentric exercises twice a day is as effective as performing six concentric/eccentric exercises once a day in patients with rotator cuff tendinopathy.

Allografts of bone from the femoral head are often used in orthopaedic procedures. Although the donated heads are thoroughly tested microscopically before release by the bone bank, some surgeons take additional cultures in the operating theatre before implantation. There is no consensus about the need to take these cultures. We retrospectively assessed the clinical significance of the implantation of positive-cultured bone allografts. The contamination rate at retrieval of the allografts was 6.4% in our bone bank. Intra-operative cultures were taken from 426 femoral head allografts before implantation; 48 (11.3%) had a positive culture. The most frequently encountered micro-organism was coagulase-negative staphylococcus. Deep infection occurred in two of the 48 patients (4.2%). In only one was it likely that the same micro-organism caused the contamination and the subsequent infection. In our study, the rate of infection in patients receiving positive-cultured allografts at implantation was not higher than the overall rate of infection in allograft surgery suggesting that the positive cultures at implantation probably represent contamination and that the taking of additional cultures is not useful.