Table 2 Summarised characteristics of the 15 identified outcome instruments. LET lateral elbow tendinopathy, VAS visual analogue scale
Instrument | Author (year) | Development purpose | Assessor | Dimensions (no. items) | Scales | No. documents on development and metric properties (see Additional file 2) | No. documents reporting instrument use internationally (English speaking) (see Additional file 2) | Data from an exclusively LET population or mixed pathology |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
A&C (Andrews and Carson) | Andrews et al. [45] | To evaluate subjective and objective results of elbow arthroscopy | Clinician | Symptoms (3) Activities (1) Function (3) | 4-point Likert scale scored out of 200 then interpreted as one of four groups (poor–excellent) | 1 | 2 (2) | Mixed |
ASES-E (American Shoulder and Elbow Score-E) | King et al. [46] | Elbow functional assessment | Patient and clinician | Pain (5) Function (12) Satisfaction (1) + Clinical assessment | Mixture of visual analogue scale and 4-point Likert scales. | 3 | 5 (5) | Mixed |
DASH (Disabilities of the Arm Shoulder and Hand) | Hudak et al. [47] | Region (arm) specific measure of disability and symptoms with any or multiple musculoskeletal disorders of the upper limb. | Patient | Physical function (21) Symptoms (5) Psychosocial (4) (optional work and sport/music module) | 5-point Likert scale Raw score converted to 0–100 scale | 18 | 60 (23) | Mixed |
HSS (Hospital for Special Surgery) | Inglis and Pellicci [48] | Pre and post of assessment of elbow arthroplasty | Clinician | Pain (2) Function (2) + Clinical assessment | Categorical scoring of pain at rest (5 options) and in bending (4). Function split into A (4) and B (5) + clinical assessment Scored 0–100 | 3 | 1 (1) | Mixed |
LES (Liverpool Elbow Score) | Sathyamoorthy et al. [49] | Elbow specific measure of function and clinical state | Patient and clinician | Physical function (8) Pain (1) + Clinical assessment | 5-point Likert scale Raw score converted to 0–10 scale | 1 | 1 (0) | Mixed |
MEPS (Mayo Elbow Performance Score) | Morrey and Adams [50] | For the assessment of total elbow arthroplasty | Clinician | Pain (5) Function (15) + Clinical assessment | 10-point Likert scale Scored out of 100 then interpreted as one of four groups (poor–excellent) | 6 | 24 (9) | Mixed |
Morrey | Broberg and Morrey [51] | For the assessment of radial head fractures excision | Clinician | Pain (1) + Clinical assessment | Categorical scoring of pain (4 options) Scored out of 100 then interpreted as one of four groups (poor–excellent) | 2 | 4 (0) | Mixed |
Nirschl | Nirschl [52] | Assessment of LET based on phases of pain. | Patient and clinician | Pain (1) + Addition of VAS and surgical findings | Categorical scoring of pain (7 options) | 2 | 16 (7) | LET |
OES (Oxford Elbow Score) | Dawson et al. [53] | For the assessment of the outcome of elbow surgery | Patient | Pain (4) Function (4) Limitation to work and leisure activities (2) Psychosocial (2) | Categorical scoring options Converted to numerical value (0–4) Domains scored individually | 5 | 5 (2) | Mixed |
PRTEE (Patient-Rated Tennis Elbow Evaluation) (formally PRFE) | Overend et al. [54] | For measurement of forearm pain and disability in patients with LET | Patient | Pain (5) Function • Specific (6) • Usual (4) | 10-point Likert scale Raw score converted to 0–100 scale | 9 | 53 (21) | LET |
qDASH (quick Disabilities of the Arm Shoulder and Hand) | Beaton et al. [55] | Abbreviated DASH score | Patient | Physical function (6) Pain (2) Psychosocial (3) | 5 point Likert scale Raw score converted to 0–100 scale | 8 | 18 (5) | Mixed |
R&M (Roles and Maudsley) | Roles and Maudsley [56] | To classify the outcome of surgery in radial tunnel syndrome | Clinician | Pain Movement Activity | Placed in 1 of 4 groups (poor–excellent) dependent on composite of dimension finding | 2 | 16 (2) | Mixed |
TEFS (Tennis Elbow Functional Score) | Lowe [39] | For the assessment of disability in patients with LET | Patient | Pain (10) | 5-point Likert scale Scores of 10 items added together | 1 | 3 (0) | LET |
ULFI (Upper Limb Functional Index) | Pransky et al. [57] | For the assessment of upper limb function | Patient | Function (8) | 10-point Likert scale Scores of 8 items added together | 1 | 6 (3) | Mixed |
Verhaar | Verhaar et al. [58] | For the assessment of the outcome of surgery in LET | Clinician | Pain Satisfaction Movement Strength | Placed in 1 of 4 groups (poor–excellent) dependent on composite of dimension finding | 1 | 6 (1) | LET |