Accuracy of Patient History in the Diagnosis of Hip-Related Pain
- Details
- Dr. Shawn Thistle
Hip pain is a common condition affecting 14% of adults, who report hip pain during most days of a given week. Diagnosis of hip pain typically follows a standard protocol of taking a patient history followed by physical examination, with the physical exam often expected to confirm the initial diagnoses suspected following the history. The value of diagnostic tests, however, has been questioned of late, with evidence suggesting that the physical exam – especially “special tests” used in diagnosis – are of little actual value to the clinician, and provide no real valuable information for the diagnosis of hip-related pathology.
The COVID-19 pandemic has seen, among many changes to healthcare in general, an increase in the use of telehealth services. In this environment, research comparisons with traditional healthcare have seemingly confirmed suggestions that the history is the most important factor in accurate diagnosis, with research suggesting that many patient history items are equally if not more important than clinician-administered physical tests.
The diagnostic accuracy and value of the objective physical examination and its association with hip pain diagnosis has been investigated in systematic reviews, but no reviews have evaluated the diagnostic accuracy of the subjective history and its role in diagnostic accuracy. This study aimed to address this gap by searching the current literature on this topic.
THIS WEEK'S RESEARCH REVIEW: “Accuracy of Patient History in the Diagnosis of Hip-Related Pain”
This paper was published in the Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (2021) and this Review is posted in Recent Reviews, Hip, Clinical Testing & Procedures and the 2022 Archive.
