ArticleJournal of experimental orthopaedics2025
Accuracy of the visual assessment of patellar tracking is poor and is influenced by trochlear dysplasia.
Article in Journal of experimental orthopaedics, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Patellar tilt correction magnitude, rather than residual tilt, predicts functional outcome after isolated medial femoropatellar ligament reconstruction.Journal of experimental orthopaedics · 2026Article
- Differential effects of knee flexion on Caton-Deschamps, patellotrochlear and Insall-Salvati indices: A dynamic magnetic resonance imaging-controlled study.Journal of experimental orthopaedics · 2026Article
- Accuracy of the visual assessment of patellar tracking is poor and is influenced by trochlear dysplasia.Journal of experimental orthopaedics · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Purpose: The J-sign is commonly used to assess patellar tracking in patellofemoral instability, though reliability is limited. This study analysed the diagnostic performance and reliability of digitally aided visual J-sign assessments by patellofemoral specialists compared to dynamic kinematic computed tomography scans (DKCT). Methods: A diagnostic study was conducted with 20 experts assessing maltracking (≥2 quadrants lateral translation) in 17 standardised single-knee videos of patients with and without patellofemoral instability. A digital reference line was added to guide visualisation. Experts performed qualitative (binary) assessments and quantitative gradings (0-3) of patellar tracking. Inter- and intra-rater reliability was evaluated using kappa statistics. Diagnostic performance was compared to DKCT-based patellar lateralisation (bisect offset [BO]). Logistic regression analysed the influence of tibial tuberosity-trochlear groove (TTTG) distance, lateral trochlear inclination (LTI) and Caton-Deschamps Index (CDI) on accuracy. Results: Moderate inter-rater ( Conclusion: Despite substantial intra-rater and moderate inter-rater reliability, accuracy in grading patellar tracking was low, particularly in quantitative assessments. Trochlear dysplasia affected diagnostic accuracy, suggesting the J-sign is less reliable in dysplastic patients. More advanced imaging methods may be necessary to improve patellar tracking evaluations. Level of Evidence: Level III, diagnostic study.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.