title: Oxford elbow scores in an asymptomatic population.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Patient reported outcome measures (PROMs) are being used increasingly to assess the quality of healthcare delivery in the UK. It is important when using PROMs to know the score of the background population against which any clinical intervention may be benchmarked. The purpose of this study was to measure an elbow specific PROM for the population of the South West Peninsula.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional survey was undertaken of patients and healthcare professionals from the South West Peninsula population. Participants were asked to complete a simple demographic questionnaire and an Oxford elbow score for each elbow. Respondents with a history of elbow surgery, elbow injury, chronic elbow problems or an incomplete dataset were excluded from the study.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 1,765 respondents (3,530 elbows) completed the survey but 567 questionnaires were excluded due to incomplete datasets, pre-existing elbow pathology or age criteria, leaving 1,198 individuals (2,396 elbows) for analysis. The median scores for each decade group were 48, with mean scores ranging from 46.74 to 47.94. There was no significant clinical difference in the scores for age, sex or hand dominance.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  When using the Oxford elbow score to assess outcomes after surgery, a normal score should be used as the benchmark. This benchmark is independent of age, sex and hand dominance.
authors.affiliation: Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust, UK.
authors.forename: P M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Guyver
authors.forename: A E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Cattell
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Hall
authors.forename: M D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Brinsden
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004550:Elbow / Q000502:physiology / Q000601:surgery*; D004739:England; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D017678:Sex Distribution; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult
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