Patients can accurately self-report their elbow range of motion following surgery for trauma

There is an increased demand of telemedicine in the recent century, especially with the outbreak of Covid-19. The aim of this study was to investigate patients' reliability in self-assessing own elbow range of motion following surgery for trauma.

All patients of age ≥16 years who underwent surgery for elbow trauma at the local trauma unit between March 2015 to Aug 2018 were reviewed retrospectively. Identified cohort was invited to self-assess their elbow range of motion (ROM) using questionnaire with image instruction. They were then followed up with a clinical review for objective measurements by the lead clinician. Independent T-test was used to compare the measurements between patients and clinician. The power of the study was calculated using G∗Power software.

Thirty-five patients were enrolled in the study with mean age of 41 years. 11 of 35 patients had an associated elbow fracture dislocation associated. Mean patient reported total ROM was 105.7° ± 32.8°, with mean extension of 24.6° ± 18.9° to mean flexion of 130.3° ± 18.2°. Mean objective ROM measured by lead clinician was 112.6° ± 18.3°, with mean extension 22.4° ± 10.9° to mean flexion 135.0° ± 10.8°. No statistical significance was found between self-reported and clinician-based extension (p = 0.36), flexion (p = 0.076), and overall range of motion (p = 0.12).

Patients can self-assess their elbow range of motion following surgery for trauma accurately. In the midst of increasing demands for telemedicine, we suggest the application of patients' self-reporting outcome in clinical settings.