Sensitivity and specificity of normalized truncated navicular height in assessment of static foot posture in children aged 6–12 years

Abstract

Background: Normalized truncated navicular height (NTNH) is a non-invasive, easy to perform, and simple clinical measure of static foot posture. However, its sensitivity and specificity in evaluation of the static foot posture in children have not been investigated yet.Objective: To investigate the intra-rater reliability, sensitivity, and specificity of NTNH in evaluation of the static foot posture in children using radiographic measure as a gold standard measure.Methods: A cross-sectional study of a random sample of 300 school children aged 6–12 years old. Intra-rater reliability, minimal detectable change, sensitivity, and specificity of NTNH were investigated. NTNH as a clinical measure of static foot posture was calculated and compared to the radiographic measure and displayed on the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve.Results: NTNH demonstrated an intra-rater reliability of [Formula: see text]. The sensitivity and specificity of NTNH were 88.1% and 99.5%, respectively. The optimal cutoff point for the diagnosis of flat foot using NTNH in children aged 6–12 years is NTNH [Formula: see text].Conclusion: NTNH is a sensitive and specific measure of static foot posture in the children aged 6–12 years. It is recommended to be used as a screening measure of static foot posture in children as it is easy, simple to perform, and a non-invasive clinical measure.