Incidence and risk factors for patellofemoral dislocation in adults with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease: An observational study.
Enza Leone, Sally Davenport, Claire Robertson and 4 others
PMID 36807482WHAT IT FOUND
Patellofemoral dislocation is common in adults with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, affecting 22.2% of participants.
Physical examination findings of patella alta and lateral patellar glide were independently associated with this risk, suggesting clinicians should screen for these signs during knee assessments.
Key findings
01The incidence of patellofemoral dislocation in adults with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease was 22.2% (18 out of 81 participants).
02Patella alta and lateral patellar glide were the only factors independently associated with patellofemoral dislocation in logistic regression analysis.
03The dislocation group was significantly younger at disease onset (median 6 years) compared to the non-dislocation group (median 13 years).
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The study design was observational and cross-sectional, so it cannot determine causality between risk factors and dislocation. The assessors were not blinded to the participants' history of dislocation, which introduces the potential for observer bias. The sample size was relatively small (81 participants), and the number of individuals with a history of dislocation was limited (18), which may have underpowered the logistic regression analysis. There was no healthy age-matched control group for comparison. Recruitment was from specialist neuromuscular clinics, which may introduce sampling bias if patients with more severe knee problems were more likely to attend or participate.
Declared interests
The study was funded by the Muscular Dystrophy Association, the Charcot-Marie-Tooth Association, and the Medical Research Council. The authors declared no other conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that generalised joint hypermobility or Ehlers-Danlos syndrome are independent risk factors for patellofemoral dislocation in this population. While they were associated in univariate analysis, they did not remain significant after adjusting for other factors like patella alta and lateral patellar glide.