Adhesive Capsulitis: Establishing Consensus on Clinical Identifiers for Stage 1 Using the Delphi Technique

Background: Adhesive capsulitis often is difficult to diagnose in its early stage and to differentiate from other commonly seen shoulder disorders with the potential to cause pain and limited range of movement. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to establish consensus among a group of experts regarding the clinical identifiers for the first or early stage of primary (idiopathic) adhesive capsulitis. Design: A correspondence-based Delphi technique was used in this study. Methods: Three sequential questionnaires, each building on the results of the previous round, were used to establish consensus. Results: A total of 70 experts from Australia and New Zealand involved in the diagnosis and treatment of adhesive capsulitis completed the 3 rounds of questionnaires. Following round 3, descriptive statistics were used to screen the data into a meaningful subset. Cronbach alpha and factor analysis then were used to determine agreement among the experts. Consensus was achieved on 8 clinical identifiers. These identifiers clustered into 2 discrete domains of pain and movement. For pain, the clinical identifiers were a strong component of night pain, pain with rapid or unguarded movement, discomfort lying on the affected shoulder, and pain easily aggravated by movement. For movement, the clinical identifiers included a global loss of active and passive range of movement, with pain at the end-range in all directions. Onset of the disorder was at greater than 35 years of age. Conclusions: This is the first study to use the Delphi technique to establish clinical identifiers indicative of the early stage of primary (idiopathic) adhesive capsulitis. Although limited in differential diagnostic ability, these identifiers may assist the clinician in recognizing early-stage adhesive capsulitis and may inform management, as well as facilitate future research.

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