Evaluation of the reliability of the modified Merle d'Aubigné and Postel Method

OBJECTIVE: To assess the inter-evaluator reproducibility of the Modified Merle d'Aubigné and Postel Method. METHOD: Forty-five patients took part in the study, with a mean age of 57.93 (±13.35) who underwent total hip arthroplasty. All were evaluated by three researchers, who received training to standardize their criteria. The evaluation was held by the Modified Merle d'Aubigné and Postel Method (association of prefixes A, B and C) the same day at random, and the researchers did not report to one another throughout the evaluations. For mobility assessment, passive hip movements were performed and measured with the universal goniometer. The statistical analysis was carried out by the Cronbach Test (p≤0.05 and 0.7≤ α<1.0). RESULTS: The statistical analysis showed significantly high inter-evaluators reliability for the items: prefix (p<0.001; α = 0.961), pain (p<0.001; α= 0.892), gait (p<0.001; α= 0.898), mobility (p<0.001; α=0.810) and total score (p<0.001; α=0.917). CONCLUSION: There was high significance and reliability among the three evaluators for all items of the Modified Merle d'Aubigné and Postel Method, suggesting that this method is reliable, provided its items are parameterized and previous training of evaluators is carried out. Level of Evidence II, Diagnostic Study.