Photogrammetry as a tool to assess knee alignment on sagittal plane: A systematic review with meta-analysis

Abstract

Background

Photogrammetry has been widely used in postural assessment. However, many of the available protocols do not present information about measurement properties.

Objectives

To identify which methods using photogrammetry to assess knee alignment on the sagittal plane are valid and/or reliable.

Design

Systematic review with meta-analysis.

Method

Searches were conducted on databases systematically and manually according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA). The selection, data extraction, and assessment of the methodological quality of the studies were conducted by two independent raters. The studies were assessed using a tool proposed by Brink and Louw. Meta-analyses of the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) were performed.

Results

Twelve studies were included, ten assessing reliability, one assessing the validity, and one assessing both reliability and validity of the methods used to assess the knee using photogrammetry. We did not find any method that presented both the reliabilities and validities attested. It was possible to identify only values of ICC for intra-rater and inter-rater reliabilities.

Conclusions

The results show the need for more investigation, since we did not find any method that has both validity and reliability attested for assessing knee alignment on the sagittal plane using photogrammetry.