A study of the inter-rater reliability of a test battery for use in patients after total hip replacement

Objective:To assess the within-day inter-rater reliability of a test battery of functional performance, muscle strength and leg extension power on total hip replacement patients.Design:A test–retest design was used.Setting:Orthopaedic department at a Regional Hospital in Denmark.Subjects:Two convenience samples of 20 total hip replacement patients were included.Intervention:The tests were performed three months after total hip replacement. Two raters performed test and re-test, with two hours rest in-between.Main measures:The test battery included: sit-to-stand performance, 20-metre maximum walking speed, stair climb performance, isometric muscle strength (hip abduction/flexion), and leg extension power. Absolute reliability was assessed with Bland Altman plots, standard error of measurement (SEM), and minimal detectable change. Relative reliability was assessed with intra-class correlation coefficient.Results:Systematic differences between testers were seen in tests of walking speed (0.32 seconds p = 0.0...