Reliability of still photography measuring habitual head deviation from midline in infants with congenital muscular torticollis.
OBJECTIVE
To establish intrarater and interrater reliability of still photography for measuring habitual head deviation from midline in infants with congenital muscular torticollis (CMT).


METHODS
Two investigators took still photographs of 30 infants with CMT in a supine position and measured head deviation angles with a protractor. Data analysis included paired t tests, Pearson r, and intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) with 95% confidence intervals.


RESULTS
Pearson r varied from 0.80 to 0.85 for the same rater and from 0.72 to 0.99 for 2 different raters. The ICC (3,1) varied from 0.79 to 0.84, and ICC (2,1) varied from 0.72 to 0.99. Participants with smaller head-tilt angles showed greater variability in head position.


CONCLUSIONS
Still photography is a reliable method for measuring habitual head deviation from midline in infants with CMT. Several modifications to the measurement procedure have been suggested.
Department of Physical Therapy, College of Health Professions, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, North Chicago, Illinois 60064, USA. Mary.Rahlin@rosalindfranklin.edu
Mary
M
Rahlin
Bernadette
B
Sarmiento
D053587:Arthrometry, Articular; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006257:Head / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D018475:Head-Down Tilt; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007229:Infant Welfare; D008297:Male; D009068:Movement; D009333:Neck / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D009334:Neck Muscles / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D010781:Photography / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D026741:Physical Therapy Modalities / Q000295:instrumentation; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular / Q000502:physiology; D012016:Reference Values; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D014103:Torticollis / Q000151:congenital / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000534:rehabilitation; D016896:Treatment Outcome