Recommendation for questionnaires on the investigation of shoulder joint function from the research committee of the AGA

In orthopedics and trauma surgery the importance of patient-reported outcome measures (PROM) has enormously increased, not only clinically and academically but also with respect to health policy. Many such measurement instruments are available for the shoulder joint, so that a uniform application of suitable PROMs is recommended for comparisons under scientific and clinical aspects. A PROM must fulfil scientific criteria (e.g., reliability, validity and responsiveness), should be validated for the pathology of interest and a validated translated version should be available for the respective language. Furthermore, data reporting the minimal clinically important difference (MCID) should be available in order to interpret data not only with respect to the statistical significance but also the clinical relevance. The aim of this work was to recommend a PROM for each relevant pathology of the shoulder joint, which best fulfils these criteria. Considering all these criteria, the research committee of the AGA recommends the following PROMs: the Constant-Murley score (CMS) for glenohumeral osteoarthritis and shoulder arthroplasty, the Western Ontario stability index (WOSI) for glenohumeral instabilities and the Western Ontario rotator cuff index (WORCI) for pathologies of the subacromial space and rotator cuff lesions. The Nottingham clavicle score (NCS) represents a suitable instrument for the clavicle and the surrounding joints (acromioclavicular and sternoclavicular joints). These recommended PROMs encompass a broad spectrum of shoulder pathologies, are of high quality with respect to the named criteria and validated German translations have been established.