Adolescent and Caregiver-derived Utilities for Traumatic Patella Dislocation Health States

Area of Science:

• Orthopaedic Surgery
• Health Economics
• Pediatric Health

Background:

• Treatment for pediatric traumatic patella dislocation lacks consensus.
• Health utility assessments quantify quality of life in orthopaedic conditions.
• Understanding patient and parent perspectives is crucial for treatment decisions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine health utilities for pediatric acute traumatic patella dislocation and subsequent treatment states.
• To compare patient and parent utility assessments.
• To explore the impact of functional status on health state preferences.

Main Methods:

• Adolescents with first-time patella dislocations and their parents were surveyed.
• Six distinct health states were defined, from immediate injury to full recovery.
• Classic feeling thermometer utility acquisition was used for patient and proxy reports.

Main Results:

• Both adolescents and parents viewed successful treatment as perfect health (utility=1).
• Adolescents assigned higher utility to stable, lower-function states than parents.
• Highly active adolescents prioritized returning to sport, devaluing states with functional limitations.

Conclusions:

• Patient and parent utility assessments provide valuable quality of life insights.
• Adolescents' baseline activity level significantly influences their health state preferences.
• Findings may support more aggressive treatment for athletic adolescents to minimize time out of play.