Reliability and Validity of the Anterior Knee Pain Scale: Applications for Use as an Epidemiologic Screener

Abstract

A screening instrument’s ability to provide clinicians with consistent and reproducible information is crucial to intervention. Despite widespread acceptance and clinical use of the Kujala Anterior Knee Pain Scale (AKPS) in orthopedics and sports medicine, few studies have reported on its reliability and no such studies have concentrated on child or adolescent samples exclusively, segments of the population for which this instrument is often used. The purpose of the current study was to describe and report on the reliability and validity of the AKPS for use with high school female athletes participating in interscholastic athletics. The study was a secondary analysis of prospective epidemiologic data using established scale validation methods. The records of 414 female athletes 11.0 to 18.1 years of age (Mean 13.9 yrs, SD = 1.7 yrs) were used for analysis. Four different approaches to scoring and scale reduction of the AKPS were evaluated, including the original, ordinal 13-item form, a modified, ordinal 6-item form, a modified, dichotomous 13-item form, and a modified, dichotomous 6-item form. Three different types of reliability (internal consistency, equivalence across forms, standard error of measurement) and one type of validity (criterion-related) were estimated for the AKPS in the current sample. The four scoring formats of the AKPS scale were found to have high internal consistency (αcoef = 0.83 to 0.91), equivalence across the short and long forms (r = 0.98), acceptable standard errors of measurement (0.82 to 3.00), and moderate to high criterion related validity—as determined by physican’s diagnosis: 0.92 (13-item form), 0.90 (6-item form). The Kujala AKPS is a valid and reliable measure of anterior knee pain and appropriate for use as an epidemiologic screening tool with adolescent female athletes.

Validity and Reliability of the Indonesian Version of the Kujala Score for Patients With Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome

“…The Kujala score has proven to be valid and reliable in the diagnosis and screening of anterior knee pain. 3,8 The Indonesian version of the Kujala score showed positive correlations with the physical functioning, bodily pain, and PCS sections of the SF-36 Indonesian version. This result is understandable, as the Kujala score was designed to diagnose a pain-related syndrome.…”

Clinical and Biomechanical Outcomes following Knee Extensor Mechanism Reconstruction

“…Patient-reported outcomes validated for knee injuries (visual analog scale pain score, Kujala score, Lysholm score, Tegner Activity Scale score) were determined retrospectively at last follow up. 25 , 26 Preoperative Kujala and Tegner Activity Scale scores also were obtained in an 8-patient subset retrospectively. Clinical range of motion (ROM) was determined using a goniometer.…”

A Five-Year Comparative Functional and Clinical Evaluation of Two Contemporary Cruciate-Retaining Knee Implants

“…The Kujala AKP score is a recognized instrument used within the fields of orthopaedics and sports medicine. It is a 13-item screening instrument designed to assess patellofemoral pain in adolescents, young adults, and in patients who underwent TKA with a variable ordinal response format [14,15]. The questionnaires were handed over to the patients and were completed independently by them preoperatively and at each follow-up.…”