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BackgroundCommunity-based studies of patellofemoral pain (PFP) need a questionnaire tool that discriminates between those with and those without the condition. To overcome these issues, we have designed a self-report questionnaire which aims to identify people with PFP in the community.MethodsStudy designs: comparative study and cross-sectional study.Study population: comparative study: PFP patients, soft-tissue injury patients and adults without knee problems. Cross-sectional study: adults attending a science festival.Intervention: comparative study participants completed the questionnaire at baseline and two weeks later. Cross-sectional study participants completed the questionnaire once.The optimal scoring system and threshold was explored using receiver operating characteristic curves, test-retest reliability using Cohen’s kappa and measurement error using Bland-Altman plots and standard error of measurement. Known-group validity was explored by comparing PFP prevalence between genders and age groups.ResultsEighty-four participants were recruited to the comparative study. The receiver operating characteristic curves suggested limiting the questionnaire to the clinical features and knee pain map sections (AUC 0.97 95 % CI 0.94 to 1.00). This combination had high sensitivity and specificity (over 90 %). Measurement error was less than the mean difference between the groups. Test–retest reliability estimates suggest good agreement (N = 51, k = 0.74, 95 % CI 0.52–0.91). The cross-sectional study (N = 110) showed expected differences between genders and age groups but these were not statistically significant.ConclusionA shortened version of the questionnaire, based on clinical features and a knee pain map, has good measurement properties. Further work is needed to validate the questionnaire in community samples.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12891-016-1097-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Background: Clinical guidelines for the management of back pain frequently recommend 'manual therapy' as a first line intervention, with psychosocial screening and 'active rehabilitation' for those not improving at 6 weeks post onset. The potential for psychosocial factors to predict treatment response and therefore outcome has not been adequately explored. The purpose of this pilot study was to determine the feasibility of a study to compare manual therapy and active rehabilitation outcomes for subjects with sub-acute/chronic back pain, investigate whether any difference in outcome was related to psychosocial factors, and to inform the design of a main study.

Modified brilliant green agar (BGA), Muller-Kauffmann tetrathionate, Rappaport's and selenite F broths were compared for their efficiency in isolating salmonellas from pigs and their excreta. It was concluded that BGA and Rappaport's broth were the media of choice. Where searches were made for Salmonella cholerae-suis alone, the use of a trehalose McConkey agar provided a rapid method of differentiating S. cholerae-suis, which does not ferment trehalose, from the majority of other salmonellas, which do ferment trehalose. Casualties were collected from two farms where infection with S. cholerae-suis was endemic. The isolation rates of S. cholerae-suis from different carcase sites were compared in order to determine the relative importance of the salivary, upper respiratory and faecal routes of excretion. S. cholerae-suis was isolated from numerous carcase sites in carriers including the salivary glands, tonsils, trachea and lungs. However, isolations from the nasal passages, mouth, pharynx and gastro-intestinal tract of carriers were either infrequent or absent. When, in a further study, S. cholerae-suis was isolated from only 3/414 faeces, 1/170 nasal swabs and not at all from 170 oral swabs taken from live pigs, it was concluded that there must be more significant modes of transmission than from the salivary glands, upper respiratory or gastro-intestinal tracts. Cannibalism was considered to be a possibility. In contrast to S. cholerae-suis, other salmonellas were frequently isolated from randomly collected faeces and from the gastro-intestinal tract as well as other sites in casualties.