Reviewing the reliability of revised Melbourne Cerebral Palsy Hip Classification System across different medical specialties.

Abstract

Objectives: The aim of this study was to measure the reliability of the expanded and revised Melbourne Cerebral Palsy Hip Classification System (r-MCPHCS) across different medical specialties.

Patients and methods: Anteroposterior pelvic radiographs of a total of 44 patients (20 males, 24 females; median 16.7 years; range, 12 to 32 years) with cerebral palsy (CP) were analyzed between January 2005 and December 2020. Four medical specialists (an orthopedic surgeon, a pediatric neurologist, a radiologist, and a physical medicine and rehabilitation specialist) were included in the study. The time gap between the first and the second assessment was at least three months. The intra- and inter-observer intraclass correlation coefficient (IntraOb. and InterOb. ICCs) were calculated. An ICC of >0.8 was considered excellent fit.

Results: The median IntraOb. ICC was found to be 0.93 (range, 0.89 to 0.97), the median InterOb. ICC was found to be 0.88 for the first assessment (A) and 0.93 for the second assessment (B). Both results were interpreted as excellent in terms of compatibility.

Conclusion: Our study results suggest that r-MCPHCS is a well-designed, reliable and reproducible scale that is easy to use among different medical specialists.